Facial Features

See also anatomy; beards; body, human; eyes.

gnathism

the condition of having an upper jaw that protrudes beyond the plane of the face. —gnathic, adj.

hiation

Obsolete, the act of gaping or letting the mouth hang open wide.

lineament

a feature or detail in relation to outline or contour, as a feature of a face. —lineamental, adj.

mesognathism

the condition of having medium-sized jaws that project only slightly from the plane of the face. —mesognathic, mesognathous, adj.

metopomancy

Rare. a form of divination involving examination of facial features. —metopomantic, adj.

metoposcopy

the art or science of physiognomy; the attempt to discern a person’s character from the study of the facial features. —metoposcopist, n., —metoposcopic, metoposcopical, adj.

opisthognathism

the condition of having retracted jaws. —opisthognathic, opisthognathous, adj.

orthognathism

the condition of having straight jaws. —orthognathic, orthog-nathous, adj.

pathognomy

the study of the signs that reveal human passions. —pathognomonic, adj.

physiognomy

1. the art of determining character or personal qualities from the features or form of the body, especially the face.

2. divination by examining the features of a face. —physiognomist, n. —physiognomic, physiognomical, adj.

prognathism

the condition of having jaws that project beyond the upper part of the face. —prognathic, prognathous, adj.

prosopalgia

neuralgia affecting the face.

prosopography

1. Obsolete, a description of the face. See also history.