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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

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English

face

/ˈfeɪ̯s/
The front part of the head of a human or other animal, featuring the eyes, nose, and mouth, and the surrounding area.

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    Origin

    From Middle English face, from Old French face, from Late Latin facia, from Latin faciēs (“form, appearance”). Doublet of facies. Displaced native onlete (“face, countenance, appearance”), anleth (“face”), from Old English anwlite, andwlita, compare German Antlitz; Old English ansīen (“face”), Middle English neb (“face, nose”) (from Old English nebb), Middle English ler, leor, leer (“face, cheek, countenance”) (from Old English hlēor), and non-native Middle English vis (“face, appearance, look”) (from Old French vis) and Middle English chere (“face”) from Old French chere.

    In the sense of face as in reputation, influenced by Chinese 面子 (miànzi) or 臉／脸 (liǎn), both of which mean literally the front of the head and metaphorically one's public image. See lose face.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishface
      • borrowedOld Frenchface
        • inheritedLate Latinfacia
          • derivedLatinfaciēs “form, configuration, figure; face, visage, countenance”
            • partLatinfaciō “do, make”
              • inherited (ultimately)Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁- “to do, put, place, set”
                • derivedProto-Indo-European*dʰéh₁tis “deed, action”
              • inheritedProto-Italic*fakjō
              • derivedProto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁- “to do, put, place, set”
            • partLatin-iēs
              • inheritedProto-Italic*-jēs

    Related: English facies (doublet)

    Words built on it: about-face, face-up, face-off

    Meanings

    noun
    1. The front part of the head of a human or other animal, featuring the eyes, nose, and mouth, and the surrounding area.
    2. One's facial expression.
    3. A distorted facial expression; an expression of displeasure, insult, etc.
    4. The amount expressed on a bill, note, bond, etc., without any interest or discount; face value.
    5. The mouth.
    6. Makeup; one's complete facial cosmetic application.
    verb
    1. To position oneself or itself so as to have one's face closest to (something).
    2. To have its front closest to, or in the direction of (something else).
    3. To cause (something) to turn or present a face or front, as in a particular direction.
    4. To improve the display of stock by ensuring items aren't upside down or back to front and are pulled forwards.
    5. To be presented or confronted with; to have in prospect.
    6. To deal with (a difficult situation or person); to accept (facts, reality, etc.) even when undesirable.
    adv
    1. Intensely.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: face