figureheadn.
1.
a. A piece of ornamental carving, usually a bust or full-length figure, placed over the cut-water of a ship.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > fore part of vessel > [noun] > any part in front of stem > figure-head
figurehead1766
head1804
headpiece1807
family head1835
galley-nose1867
1766 Ann. Reg. 1765 i. 185/1 His majesty's ship..will soon have a new figure head.
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple I. xvi. 259 If her figure-head..be finished off by the same builder, she's perfect.
1887 W. Besant World Went xxvii. 207 The beautiful carved group..once served for a figure-head.
b. humorously for: Face (of a person).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > [noun]
leera700
nebeOE
onseneeOE
wlitec950
anlethOE
nebshaftc1225
snouta1300
facec1300
visage1303
semblantc1315
vicea1325
cheera1350
countenance1393
front1398
fashiona1400
visurec1400
physiognomyc1425
groina1500
faxa1522
favour1525
facies1565
visor1575
complexiona1616
frontispiecea1625
mun1667
phiz1687
mug1708
mazard1725
physiog1791
dial plate1811
fizzog1811
jiba1825
dial1837
figurehead1840
Chevy Chase1859
mooey1859
snoot1861
chivvy1889
clock1899
map1899
mush1902
pan1920
kisser1938
boat1958
boat race1958
punim1965
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack v. 21 [It] had..‘knocked his figure-head all to smash’.
1884 D. Pae Eustace 91 If you don't want your figure-head spoiled.
2. Said depreciatingly of one who holds the position of head of a body of persons, a community, society, etc., but possesses neither authority nor influence. Also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of power > [noun] > people without power > person or country without real power
roi fainéant1811
paper tiger1836
figurehead1883
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > one who has no power or influence
unmight?a1300
man of clouts, king of clouts1467
Tom Thumb1646
figurehead1883
1883 Congregationalist Dec. 1019 Mere diocesan figure-heads with no opinions at all.
1885 Harper's Mag. Mar. 610/2 A mere figure-head president.
1891 Spectator 12 Dec. 832 A mere figure-head to the Government.
3. Architecture. A grotesque head, animal, etc. carved in stone on the corbel of a building; a corbel-head.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [noun] > gargoyles or grotesques
gargoyle13..
baboonc1400
antic1532
marmoset1687
mask1731
antefix1819
figurehead1874
1874 Archæol. Assoc. Jrnl. Dec. 416 The row of figure-heads is continued inside that portion of the church.
Derivatives
figure-ˈheadless adj. without a figurehead.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel of specific construction or shape > [adjective] > having a prow > having specific type of bow or prow
bluff1627
bowed1747
bold1793
spurred1805
bluff-bowed1833
fiddle-headed1851
bluff-headed1867
figure-headless1877
spoon-bowed1900
1877 W. Besant & J. Rice in Graphic 20 Oct. 374/1 The figure-headless ironclads of the present degenerate days.
figure-ˈheadship n. the position of figurehead.
ΚΠ
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 14 May 3/1 The figure-headship of the Opposition.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
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n.1766