facial
/ˈfeɪ.ʃəl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.10 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Concerned with or used in improving the appearance of the face.
adj
(of a law or regulation validity) On its face; as it appears (as opposed to on a more probing analysis, as it is applied, etc.).
noun
A personal care beauty treatment which involves cleansing and moisturizing of the human face.
noun
A kind of early silent film focusing on the facial expressions of the actor.
Example Sentences
- "The facial constitutionality of the law is in question."
- "Discipline is a form of counter-law, of dissymmetry and inequality, that operates under the discourse of juridical power to make possible the stated or facial claims of equality and rights characteristic of the French Revolution."
- "But in facials, moving picture technology also enabled an exaggeration of this performance tradition, bringing a new emphasis to the details […]"
- "Long-Dong Chuck gave his co-star a creamy facial."
- "For the piece she spoke to two women who said they enjoy facials, and who described the act as ‘the mark of a job well done’ and ‘really hot’. But Reid concludes that she herself finds facials deeply unpleasant."
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 Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Medieval Latin faciālisbor. English facial Early 17th century, borrowed from Medieval Latin faciālis (“face-to-face, direct, open”), from faciēs (“form, configuration, figure; face, visage, countenance”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).
Word Breakdown
- Root: faciālis