Jump to content

multiface

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From multi- +‎ face.

Adjective

[edit]

multiface (not comparable)

  1. Having multiple faces or visages.
    • 1980, Charlene Davis Roth, Making Original Dolls of Composition, Bisque, and Porcelain, page 99:
      The Beast is a multiface doll. One face represents the Beast, the other, that of the handsome Prince.
    • 1991, Bishop Museum Occasional Papers - Issue 31, page 46:
      This multiface image is distinctly similar in style to the “mask” or “post” figures above.
    • 2021, E. R. Vogel, Love Poems and other Stuff:
      At work, in an industry of service, this multiface mentality becomes more natural, probably because of constant practice.
  2. Having multiple front sides or facets.
    • 1927, United States. Congress. House. Committee on the District of Columbia ·, District of Columbia Investigations, page 1571:
      The multiface four-way signals shall consist of an assembly of bodies and optical systems as specified above for the single-face bracket-type signals.
    • 2007, Andy Pressman, Charles George Ramsey, Architectural Graphic Standards, page 313:
      Multiface fireplaces are also popular; they include the see-through fireplace, the corner fireplace, and the freestanding fireplace.
    • 2012, R. Newton Mayall, Margaret W. Mayall, Sundials: Their Construction and Use, page 206:
      Usually found on multiface dials, but also used on roofs, wall copings, and so forth.
  3. Occurring on or pertaining to multiple faces or sides.
    • 1943, Industry and Welding - Volume 16, page 45:
      Multiface cutting greatly increasees production, and obtains greater accuracy and uniformity in the pieceds produced.
    • 1979, John W. Seybold, Fundamentals of Modern Photo-composition, page 60:
      The multiface perforator was based upon a 32 unit-to-the-em system.
    • 1989, Federal Register - Volume 54, Issues 230-236, page 50715:
      Concern has been expressed that if multiface blasting were permitted, the firing of one face could cause disruption of the blasting circuit in another face resulting in undetonated explosives.
    • 2006, Long-Wen Chang, Wen-Nung Lie, Rachel Chiang, Advances in Image and Video Technology, page 1285:
      By this means multiface texturing can be apply for each building results in a “photo-realistic” city model.

Noun

[edit]

multiface (plural multifaces)

  1. A combination of multiple faces on a single head.
    • 1975, R. Christopher Goodwin, Jeffery B. Walker, Villa Taina de Boqueron, page 82:
      Again, a multiface is present; here the button has two doughnut, punctated eyes with a smoothed, raised appliqué that appears to be a smiling mouth.
    • 1980, Joan G. Caldwell, Betty N. McDermott, Handbook of the Collection: New Orleans Museum of Art, page 169:
      Among these figurines is one, such as this rare example, which portrays multifaces carved on a short column and is known as Sakimatwematwe.
    • 2017, Joseph R Bristol, Human Nature: Seven Suns, page 8:
      His multiface looked angry. His eyebrows knotted and his eyes were burning red.
  2. A set of multiple aspects.
    • 1965, United States. Central Intelligence Agency, Daily Report, Foreign Radio Broadcasts - Issues 206-210, page 10:
      There is nationalism in this multiface.
  3. (archaeology, anthropology) A stone tool constructed by chipping off flakes from every side.
    • 1988, John F. Doershuk, Plenemuk Mound and the Archaeology of Will County, page 153:
      Unifacial and multifacial tools are, on average, the largest tools at JAAP-1 while edge-only and bifacial tools tend to be similar in average size and somewhat smaller than the unifaces and multifaces.
    • 1988, Charles W. Markman, Putney Landing, page 200:
      Multifaces have at least one flake scar not originating on an edge on more than two faces ( Plate 10.5 ) .
    • 1988, Anthropological Papers - Issues 79-81, page 72:
      As a general rule across the site, the usage patterns of bifaces differed significantly from the usage of multifaces or unifaces.