overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

physiognomy.

The art or pseudoscience of deducing the predominant temper and other characteristic qualities of the mind from the outward appearance, especially from the features of the face.

11 characters4 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/fɪziˈɒnəmi/UK/fɪziˈɒɡnəmi/UK, obsolete/fɪziˈɑ(ɡ)nəmi/Canada, US
  1. The art or pseudoscience of deducing the predominant temper and other characteristic qualities of the mind from the outward appearance, especially from the features of the face.

    countable · uncountable
  2. The face or countenance, with respect to the temper of the mind; particular configuration, cast, or expression of countenance, as denoting character.

    countable · uncountable
  3. The art of telling fortunes by inspection of the features.

    countable · uncountable
  4. The general appearance or aspect of a thing, without reference to its scientific characteristics.

    countable · uncountable
    the physiognomy of a plant; of a meteor
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English phisonomie, from Anglo-Norman phisenomie, Middle French phisonomie et al., ultimately from Late Latin physiognomia, from Ancient Greek φυσιογνωμία (phusiognōmía, “physiology”), from φύσις (phúsis, “physique, appearance”) + γνώμη (gnṓmē, “means of knowing”). Middle English phisonomie would regularly develop into *physnomy /ˈfɪznəmi/ (forms of this type are common in Early Modern English, such as fisnomie in All's Well that Ends Well); the modern spelling and pronunciation are due to learned influence.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

physiognomy has 11 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

physiognomy studiophysiognomy workshello, physiognomy

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.