physiognomicadj.
/ˌfɪzɪəˈnɒmɪk/, U.S. /ˌfɪziəˈnɑmɪk/ 1. Of or relating to physiognomy as a subject; skilled in physiognomy; = physiognomical adj. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > psychology of personality > analysis from bodily features > [adjective]
physiognomical1588
physiognomistical1651
physiognomonical1668
physiognomic1755
1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. vii. 7 Of Sophists, Physiognomick.
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Physiognomic, conversant in contemplation of the face.
1773 J. Cosens Econ. Beauty II. 16 A kind of tragic Frown..that so ill-beseem'd, (Say all the Critics physiognomic) His Face, insuperably comic.
a1834 S. T. Coleridge Lit. Remains (1836) I. 146 There is great physiognomic tact in Sterne.
1885 W. C. Coupland Spirit Goethe's Faust i. 11 Such physiognomic science [is] lighter than a water-bug.
1970 Amer. Hist. Rev. 75 1703 Her monograph analyzes the technical aspects of physiognomic theory and practice as a quasi-science.
2000 Isis 91 329/1 It is good to know that..physiognomic research is once more alive and kicking in the Germanic world.
2. Of, relating to, or of the nature of physiognomy; relating to the a person's face, physical form, or appearance; = physiognomical adj. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > [adjective] > as index of character
physiognomical1577
physiognomic1755
physiognomonic1755
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Physiognomic, drawn from the contemplation of the face.
1790 Mem. Literary & Philos. Soc. Manch. 3 424 The physiognomic character of Julian by Gregory in his second oration against that emperor.
1817 S. T. Coleridge Biographia Literaria II. xxii. 166 The very spirit which gives the physiognomic expression to all the works of nature.
1868 Contemp. Rev. 9 75 Currents of thought and feeling which are physiognomic of the atmosphere he lives in.
1904 H. James Golden Bowl I. iii. 48 A sharp, sharp fact,..but accompanied..with those others, facial, physiognomic, that Mrs. Assingham had been speaking of as subject to appreciation.
1988 M. Brodsky X in Paris 54 He saw what she saw of his physiognomic refusal to play any role other than that of he who is prepared for the worst.
2002 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 22 Nov. 14 You have the opportunity to find out the best place and professionals to consult for a facelift, dental correction, physiognomic change, [etc.].
3. Botany and Ecology. Of or relating to the physiognomy of a plant or a plant community (physiognomy n. 4b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by habitat or distribution > [adjective] > relating to plant community
physiognomic1878
1878 Amer. Naturalist 12 372 We must rely upon the remarkably strong physiognomic resemblance coupled with the evidence furnished by the structure of the tissues and the mode of æstivation.
1896 Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 23 502 Typical muskeag with spruce and tamarack may clearly be taken as an intermediate physiognomic distribution of vegetation, linking the original open lake with the later glade or forest.
1911 J. F. Bevis & H. J. Jeffery Brit. Plants ii. 16 The physiognomic groups into which we have divided the vegetation (woodland, grassland, heath, etc.) are only in part associated with definite types of climate.
1995 Ecology 76 1937/2 This suggests that a reduction in the physiognomic dimensionality of this species-rich tropical tree community into a smaller set of functionally equivalent species is likely to occur.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1656