mien
[meen]
- air, bearing, or demeanor, as showing character, feeling, etc.: a man of noble mien.
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Origin of mien
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
demeanorcountenancebearingstylesetlookimageactappearancemannerismairportdeportmentauraaspectaddressfrontexpressioncarriageExamples from the Web for mien
Contemporary Examples
As if instead of reading lullabies, Palestinians read their kids Mien Kempf.
Historical Examples
He desisted at last and looked back at us with a mien of anger.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
Kirkwood turned to meet her onslaught with a mien grave, determined, unflinching.
The Black BagLouis Joseph Vance
He was a good stout knight, but sorrowful of face and downcast of mien.
The Merry Adventures of Robin HoodHoward Pyle
And yet he stood in awe of that Virgin, so like a princess in her mien.
Abbe Mouret's TransgressionEmile Zola
Like the spectators at the time, we cannot pity Socrates; his mien and his language are so noble and fearless.
PhaedoPlato
mien
- literary a person's manner, bearing, or appearance, expressing personality or mooda noble mien
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Word Origin
C16: probably variant of obsolete demean appearance; related to French mine aspect
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for mien
n.
"facial expression," 1510s, probably a shortening of Middle English demean "bearing, demeanor" (see demeanor) and influenced by Middle French mine "appearance, facial expression," which is of unknown origin, possibly Celtic (cf. Breton min "beak, muzzle, nose," Irish men "mouth").
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper