visages

Visage is a noun meaning the face or facial appearance of a person. In everyday usage "face" is common, but "visage" appears in literature, art criticism, and formal writing to emphasize appearance, expression, or character.

Etymology: From Old French visage, from Latin visus meaning sight or view, related to videre "to see".

Anatomy and variation: The visage comprises the front of the head, including the forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, and chin. Its contour, alignment of features, and expressions vary with age, ethnicity, and individual development.

Cultural and artistic significance: Portraiture, cinema, and photography study the visage to convey emotion, identity, and social meaning. Throughout history, different cultures have stylized the visage—realistic, idealized, or symbolic—reflecting aesthetic ideals and symbolic associations with age, virtue, or status.

Perception and science: Psychologists and neuroscientists study face perception, recognizing faces, interpreting expressions, and judging traits. The visage also informs judgments of trust, attractiveness, and personality, often with rapid, automatic processing in the human brain.