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Origin and history of facing

facing(n.)

"defiance," 1520s, verbal noun from face (v.). Meaning "action of turning the face toward" is from 1540s; that of "covering in front of a garment" is from 1560s; that of "a coating" is from 1580s; that of "front or outer part of a wall, building, etc.," is from 1823. Earliest use is as "disfiguring, defacing" (c. 1400).

facing(adj.)

1560s, "audacious," present-participle adjective from face (v.). From 1849 as "that is opposite to."

also from 1560s

Entries linking to facing

face(v.)

"confront with assurance; show a bold face," mid-15c., from face (n.). From c. 1400 as "deface, disfigure." Meaning "to cover with something in front" is from 1560s; that of "turn the face toward" is from 1630s; meaning "be on the opposite page to" is from 1766. Intransitive sense "to turn the face" (especially in military tactics) is from 1630s. Related: Faced; facing.

To face the music "accept the consequences" (1850, in U.S. Congressional debates); the exact image is uncertain, one theory ties it to stage performers, another to cavalry horses taught to stay calm while the regimental band plays.

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    veneer
    1702, from German Furnier, from furnieren "to cover with a veneer, inlay," from French fournir "to furnish, accomplish," from Middle French fornir "to furnish," from a Germanic source (compare Old High German frumjan "to provide;" see furnish). From German to French to German to
    frontispiece
    Sense of "illustration facing a book's title page" first recorded 1680s....
    ashlar
    The meaning "thin slab of stone used as facing on a wall" is from 1823....
    adverse
    unfriendly, contrary, foreign" (as in gent avers "infidel race"), from Latin adversus "turned against, turned toward, fronting, facing...
    confront
    1560s, "to stand in front of, be facing," from French confronter (15c.), from Medieval Latin confrontare "assign limits to...
    counterpart
    mid-15c., countre part "duplicate of a legal document," from French contrepartie, from contre "facing, opposite" (see contra...
    sociable
    As a noun, the name of a type of open four-wheel carriage with two seats facing each other (1780), an informal gathering...
    liner
    "vessel belonging to a shipping line," 1838, from line (n.) on the notion of a succession of ships plying between ports along regular "lines," as distinguished from transient ships using those ports. (Line in this sense is attested by 1786 in reference to stagecoaches.) Earlier i
    tackle
    mid-13c., takel, "apparatus, gear," especially the rigging of a ship, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German takel "the rigging of a ship," which is perhaps related to Middle Dutch taken "grasp, seize" (see take (v.)). Also compare tack (n.1), which, if not the origin, has influe
    lie
    "speak falsely, tell an untruth for the purpose of misleading," Middle English lien, from Old English legan, ligan, earlier leogan "deceive, belie, betray" (class II strong verb; past tense leag, past participle logen), from Proto-Germanic *leuganan (source also of Old Norse ljug

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