Word: face Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁kyéti Proto-Italic *θakjō Proto-Italic *fakjō Latin faciō Proto-Italic *-jēs Latin -iēs Latin faciēs Late Latin facia Old French facebor. Middle English face English face 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. Pronunciation: /ˈfeɪ̯s/, /ˈfɛ̝ɪ̯s/, /ˈfɛjs/, /feːs/, /ˈfæ̝ɪ̯s/ 1. To position oneself or itself so as to have one's face closest to (something). Labels: transitive Example: Face the sun. Example: Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers. 2. To have its front closest to, or in the direction of (something else). Labels: transitive Example: Turn the chair so it faces the table. Example: He gain'd alſo with his Forces that part of Britain which faces Ireland, 3. To cause (something) to turn or present a face or front, as in a particular direction. Labels: transitive Example: The croupier delicately faced her other two cards with the tip of his spatula. A four! She had lost! 4. To improve the display of stock by ensuring items aren't upside down or back to front and are pulled forwards. Labels: transitive Example: I've put out the stock and broken down the boxes, it's just facing left to do. Example: In my first job, I learned how to operate a till and to face the store to high standards. 5. To be presented or confronted with; to have in prospect. Labels: transitive Example: We are facing an uncertain future. Example: The railway is still vital to Jordan's export trade, but in spite of the poor quality of the road, diesel lorries are gradually robbing it of freight traffic, and anyone who can afford to fly does so rather than face the long desert journey by rail. 6. To deal with (a difficult situation or person); to accept (facts, reality, etc.) even when undesirable. Labels: transitive Example: I'm going to have to face this sooner or later. Example: I'll face / This tempest, and deserve the name of king. 7. To have the front in a certain direction. Labels: intransitive Example: The seats in the carriage faced backwards. 8. To have as an opponent. Labels: transitive Example: Real Madrid face Juventus in the quarter-finals. Example: And a further boost to England's qualification prospects came after the final whistle when Wales recorded a 2-1 home win over group rivals Montenegro, who Capello's men face in their final qualifier. 9. To be the batsman on strike. Labels: intransitive Example: Willoughby comes in to bowl, and it's Hobson facing. 10. To confront impudently; to bully. Labels: dialectal, obsolete, transitive Example: Face not mee: thou haſt brau'd manie men, braue not me; I will neither bee fac'd nor brau'd. Example: That was it. Faced by my literary hero. Nicely faced though, he was charming throughout. And it was just as I suspected; there was no way in Hell Kurt Vonnegut would acquiesce to dinner with a bunch of moon-eyed, gooey strangers. 11. To cover in front, for ornament, protection, etc.; to put a facing upon. Labels: transitive Example: a building faced with marble Example: These upper walls seem mainly to have been formed, not of sun- or fire-baked bricks, as at Gournia or Palaikastro, but of clay or rubble, coated with plaster or faced with gypsum slabs. 12. To line near the edge, especially with a different material. Labels: transitive Example: to face the front of a coat, or the bottom of a dress 13. To cover with better, or better appearing, material than the mass consists of, for purpose of deception, as the surface of a box of tea, a barrel of sugar, etc. 14. To make the surface of (anything) flat or smooth; to dress the face of (a stone, a casting, etc.); especially, in turning, to shape or smooth the flat (transverse) surface of, as distinguished from the cylindrical (axial) surface. 15. To smoke (as, a joint or blunt) entirely by oneself. Labels: slang, transitive Example: He faced that blunt in ten minutes.