gelaats

Gelaat is a Dutch noun meaning the face or visage of a person. It is typically used in formal, literary, or historical contexts, whereas in everyday speech the more common term is gezicht. Gelaat can denote the front of the head and, by extension, a person’s appearance or facial expression. The plural form gelaats is attested, but gezichten is more frequently used in modern Dutch.

In compounds, the word appears in several established expressions, such as gelaatsuitdrukking (facial expression) and gelaatskenmerken (facial features). It can also occur in references to facial care or study of faces in specific contexts. In discussions of physiognomy and related fields, gelaat is sometimes favored for its literary or antiquated connotation.

Etymology and usage notes: gelaat is an older Dutch term with roots in the historic lexicon. It is cognate with related Germanic forms for face, such as the German Gesicht. In contemporary Dutch, gezicht remains the standard synonym for everyday use, while gelaat retains a more literary or historical flavor and appears more often in formal writing or historical texts.

See also: gezicht, aangezicht, fysiognomie.