physiognomy C2 Topic:People & Society US /ˌfɪziˈɑːɡnəmi/ UK /ˌfɪziˈɒnəmi/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a person's facial features or expression, especially when regarded as indicative of character His stern physiognomy gave little away. 2 noun the supposed art of judging character from facial features In earlier centuries, physiognomy was treated as a serious field of study. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a person's facial features... featurescountenancevisagefacemien 2 noun · the supposed art of judging... face-readingcharacterology Etymology AI details From Greek physis ('nature') + gnomon ('judge; interpreter'), forming physiognomonia; via Latin and Old French into Middle English physiognomy 'the art of judging character from the face'. Topics People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # physiognomy **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˌfɪziˈɑːɡnəmi/ **IPA (UK):** /ˌfɪziˈɒnəmi/ ## Meanings 1. a person's facial features or expression, especially when regarded as indicative of character 2. the supposed art of judging character from facial features ## Examples - His stern physiognomy gave little away. - In earlier centuries, physiognomy was treated as a serious field of study. ## Synonyms - features - countenance - visage - face - mien - face-reading - characterology ## Etymology From Greek physis ('nature') + gnomon ('judge; interpreter'), forming physiognomonia; via Latin and Old French into Middle English physiognomy 'the art of judging character from the face'. ## AI Etymology Physiognomy comes from Greek physis ('nature') + gnomon ('judge; interpreter'), forming physiognomonia; via Latin and Old French into Middle English physiognomy 'the art of judging character from the face'. In current use it is a noun meaning "a person's facial features or expression, especially when regarded as indicative of character". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning. ## Topics - People & Society - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown