Physiognomical

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to the practice of judging a person's character or temperament from the features and proportions of their face
2. Describing the art or pseudoscience of reading personality traits through the shape and appearance of the face
3. Concerning the assessment of mental qualities based on the form, lines and expression of a person's countenance

Etymology: Physiognomy is the older word, and it carries the real story. It comes from Greek "physiognomonia", a compound of "physis" (nature, growth) and "gnomon" (one who judges or interprets, related to "gnōmē", judgement), so the notion behind it is reading a person's inner nature from the outward form of the face and body. Ancient writers such as Aristotle were already interested in this idea, and the term passed into Latin and then English, where it has long meant the art of judging character from facial features. "Physiognomical" is a plain formation: it takes "physiognomy" and adds the adjectival suffix "-ical", producing a word meaning "relating to physiognomy". Its meaning is therefore exactly the source sense, judging character from the face, and it has stayed close to that original idea.

Synonyms: physiognomic