visage
English
Etymology
From Middle English visage, from Anglo-Norman visage, from Vulgar Latin *vīsāticum, derived from Latin vīsus (“appearance, sight”), derived from vidēre (“to see”). Compare vision.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈvɪz.ɪd͡ʒ/
Audio (US): (file) - Hyphenation: vis‧age
- Rhymes: -ɪzɪd͡ʒ
Noun
visage (plural visages)
- Countenance; one's face.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:countenance
- 1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter XX, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC, page 334:
- Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart. He was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage. It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was.
- The appearance or aspect of something, especially when expressive or distinctive.
- Snowflakes fell gently across the mountain’s rugged visage.
- 1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page 6:
- [T]he monſter, rouſed by the noiſe, ſtarted forward, preſented ſuch a viſage of horror, and raiſed ſuch a hideous roar, that the hearts of the bold were contracted, and the nerves of the valiant unſtrung.
Related terms
Translations
countenance; appearance; face
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Further reading
- “visage”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “visage”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
Anagrams
French
Picture dictionary
Etymology
Inherited from Old French visage, from vis (from Latin visus) + -age, or possibly a Vulgar Latin *visāticum.
Pronunciation
Noun
visage m (plural visages)
Synonyms
- face (only used in certain constructions, or in Canada)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “visage”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012
Middle English
Etymology
Borrowed from Old French visage.
Noun
visage (plural visages)
Synonyms
Descendants
- English: visage
Old French
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin *vīsāticum, derived from Latin vīsus. By surface analysis, vis + -age. Compare Old Occitan vizatge.
Noun
visage oblique singular, m (oblique plural visages, nominative singular visages, nominative plural visage)