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whiteface

[hwahyt-feys, wahyt-]
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noun
  1. a Hereford.
  2. Theater.
    1. a performer, as a clown, who appears in clown white.
    2. the white facial makeup used by such a performer.

Origin of whiteface

First recorded in 1700–10; white + face
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for white-face

Historical Examples

  • You want the white-face girl and you let the man live to please her!

    The Woman from Outside

    Hulbert Footner

  • Who's this here tall, white-face feller what comes in with him?

  • I must go after White-Face now, or we shall have a late supper.

  • I saw the tents of a white-face last season, after the Rains, and I also took a new yellow bridle to eat.

    The Second Jungle Book

    Rudyard Kipling

  • "Uncle Remus," the white-face, always goes through a series of facial contortions with the gravity of a rural judge.