Countenances

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The facial expressions that convey emotions and attitudes are crucial in communication
2. the features or aspect of a person's face that represent their feelings of joy, sadness, or surprise
3. the support or approval expressed by the appearance or demeanor of an individual in a specific context

Etymology: "Countenances" is simply the plural of "countenance", so its history is that of the singular noun. The surprising part is that "countenance" once meant the whole demeanour or bearing a person presented, and only later narrowed to the face and its expression. The word came into English from Anglo-Norman and Old French "contenance", which carried the sense of bearing, behaviour or composure. Its roots run in two directions. One possibility is that it came from the present participle of the French verb "contenir", meaning "to contain" or "hold together", so that a countenance was the way a person held themselves. The other possibility is that it came from Late Latin "continentia", the source of "continence". The two are doublets, meaning they are forms of the same ancestral word that reached English by separate routes, which is why "countenance" and "continence" look so unlike each other today.

Synonyms: faces, visages, expressions, features, appearances