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facies

Etymology and origin of the Latin word facies

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Naevius
Ultimate origin
Latin (faciō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈfa.ki.eːs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfaː.t͡ʃi.es][1]

Forms

faciēs f (genitive faciēī); fifth declension[1]

Etymology

It is from faciō “to make” with the suffix -iēs, related to it as speciēs is to speciō, so that it first meant “a make, a form”.[2][1][3] Köbler traces ⟨faciō⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, set”).[4] Old forms include a nominative ⟨facēs⟩ reported by Paulus' epitome of Festus, a genitive ⟨faciī⟩ in Quadrigarius and a genitive plural ⟨faciērum⟩ in Cato.[2] Isidore says it is named from ⟨effigiēs⟩, since the whole figure of a man is seen there.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Naevius, whom he dates c. 235–200 BC.[4] The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of the outward appearance of people and things.[2]

Semantic evolution

It meant first outward appearance, look, of people or animals, then the appearance or aspect of a thing, a situation or an event, as in Sallust, and characteristic form or style.[2][6] It meant a form seen in a dream or vision, a sight or spectacle, as in Ovid, shape or outline, and good looks or an imposing appearance.[2] From Lucretius onwards it meant the face, countenance, and in Cicero a facial expression, and Pliny uses it of the surface of a thing.[2] Döderlein notes that faciēs and oculī are the face and eyes in a purely physical sense, while ōs and vultus carry a moral reference.[7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant face, appearance, form, countenance.[8] In Medieval Latin it was also a heraldic term for the field of a shield.[9] A Vulgar Latin *facia gave Italian faccia and Old French face, the source of English face about 1300, while English facies is a later learned borrowing.[10][1]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius has the word.[4]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of outward appearance.[2][4]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of the face.[2][4]
  • c. 1300 – English face is recorded, through Old French.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Outward appearance, looks.[2]
  2. The aspect, look of a thing or situation, (astrology) the aspect of the stars.[2]
  3. Characteristic form, style.[2]
  4. A form, figure, especially one seen in a dream; a sight, spectacle.[2]
  5. Shape, outline.[2]
  6. Good looks, beauty; an imposing appearance.[2]
  7. The face, countenance; facial expression.[2]
  8. The surface of a thing.[2]
  9. (Medieval Latin, heraldry) The field of a shield.[9]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Facies.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/facies. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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