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Chambers (1908)

Face

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[Fr. face—L. ''facies'', form, face; perh. from facĕre, to make.]

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Face, fās, n. the front part of the head, including forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, and chin: the outside make or appearance: front or surface of anything: the edge of a cutting-tool, &c.: the part of a coal-seam actually being mined: cast of features, any special appearance or expression of the countenance: look, configuration: boldness, effrontery; presence: (B.) anger or favour.—v.t. to meet in the face or in front: to stand opposite to: to resist: to put an additional face or surface on; to cover in front.—v.i. to turn the face, as in military tactics—'right face,' &c.—ns. Face′-ache, neuralgia in the nerves of the face; Face′-card, a playing-card bearing a face (king, queen, or knave); Face′-cloth, a cloth laid over the face of a corpse.—adj. Faced, having the outer surface dressed, with the front, as of a dress, covered ornamentally with another material.—n. Face′-guard, a kind of mask to guard or protect the face.—adj. Face′less, without a face.—ns. Fac′er, one who puts on a false show: a bold-faced person: (slang) a severe blow on the face, anything that staggers one; Fac′ing, a covering in front for ornament or protection.—Face down, to abash by stern looks; Face out, to carry off by bold looks; Face the music (U.S. slang), to accept the situation at its worst; Face-to-face, in front of, in actual presence of.—Accept one's face, to show him favour or grant his request; Fly in the face of, to set one's self directly against; Have two faces, or Be two-faced, to be disingenuous; On the face of it, on its own showing: palpably plain; Pull a long face, to look dismal and unhappy; Put a good face on, to assume a bold or contented bearing as regards; Right face! Left face! Right about face! words of command, on which the soldiers individually turn to the side specified; Run one's face (U.S. slang), to obtain things on credit by sheer impudence; Set one's face against, to oppose strenuously; Show one's face, to appear, to come in view; Shut the door in his face, to shut the door before him, refusing him admittance; To his face, in his presence, openly. [Fr. face—L. ''facies'', form, face; perh. from facĕre, to make.]

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  • Historical scholarship from 1908; not current consensus or editorial verification.
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  • Public-domain determination applies to the United States; other jurisdictions require separate confirmation.
  • Chambers consulted earlier dictionaries including Skeat and the New English Dictionary; overlapping claims are not independent scholarly votes.

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Edition, rights and traceability

Chambers’s Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language
Thomas Davidson (editor)
1908

Public-domain-US ↗ · United States

Publisher marks these historical texts public domain in the USA. Transformed book text excludes Gutenberg branding; source attribution is a bibliographic acknowledgment. No non-US public-domain determination is made.

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