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Visage comes from a Latin root meaning what?

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visage

American  

[viz-ij] / ˈvɪz ɪdʒ /

noun

• visages
  plural

1. 

   the face, usually with reference to shape, features, expression, etc.; countenance.

2. aspect; appearance.

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visage British  

/ ˈvɪzɪdʒ /

noun

1. face or countenance

2. appearance; aspect

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Synonym Usage

See face.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• visaged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• visages
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of visage

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French, equivalent to vis “face” (from Latin vīsus “sight, appearance” ( Vulgar Latin: “face”), noun use of masculine past participle of vidēre “to see”) + -age -age. See wit ² ( def. )

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Explanation

Visage is a literary term for referring to someone's face or facial features. You may notice that some face creams use the word visage to try to sound fancier than they are. A famous use of visage is in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Brutus says: "O conspiracy/Shamest thou to show thy dangerous brow by night,/When evils are most free? O, then by day/Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough/To mask thy monstrous visage?" Now there's a quote that will help you remember the meaning of visage, and even give you nightmares.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

visage visages

The museum’s intimate performance space is named for the late record executive, and his visage greets guests at the front door.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

But just months after his capture in a stunning raid by US special forces, the interim government is gradually erasing Maduro's visage from public life.

From Barron's ● May 16, 2026

So when a slideshow of Kelly’s hairless visage appeared on the screen, Dokoupil fell bracingly silent.

From Slate ● Jan. 6, 2026

The boy’s face is at once peaceful and tired, his innocence shining through while the injustices of the world weigh heavy on his visage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025

His visage would be more frightening than that, cold and black and too terrible for any man to gaze upon and live.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

The carefully rendered visages are then, at the final moment, slashed with a coup de grâce—a stroke cutting across the mandible or a thick single point that pierces into the chin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

A library of radically changed visages, sliced and sculpted to fit the funhouse-mirror beauty standards set by a handful of influential men.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026

But in an administration that privileges snarling visages, Witkoff is nearly universally described as “kind,” or “nice,” a quality he has used to good diplomatic effect.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

Guests who stop to see the visages of famous guests at the hotel’s Talking Heads Gallery will also find a new portrait of Charles by David Downton, known for his fashion illustrations.

From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2023

In the sea bottom the wind stirred along faint vapors, and from the mountains great stone visages looked upon the silvery rocket and the small fire.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

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Related Words

• countenance

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