multiface

English

Etymology

From multi- +‎ face.

Adjective

multiface (not comparable)

1. Having multiple faces or visages.
   • 1980, Charlene Davis Roth, Making Original Dolls of Composition, Bisque, and Porcelain, page 99:

     The Beast is a multiface doll. One face represents the Beast, the other, that of the handsome Prince.

   • 1991, Bishop Museum Occasional Papers - Issue 31, page 46:

     This multiface image is distinctly similar in style to the “mask” or “post” figures above.

   • 2021, E. R. Vogel, Love Poems and other Stuff:

     At work, in an industry of service, this multiface mentality becomes more natural, probably because of constant practice.

2. Having multiple front sides or facets.
   • 1927, United States. Congress. House. Committee on the District of Columbia ·, District of Columbia Investigations, page 1571:

     The multiface four-way signals shall consist of an assembly of bodies and optical systems as specified above for the single-face bracket-type signals.

   • 2007, Andy Pressman, Charles George Ramsey, Architectural Graphic Standards, page 313:

     Multiface fireplaces are also popular; they include the see-through fireplace, the corner fireplace, and the freestanding fireplace.

   • 2012, R. Newton Mayall, Margaret W. Mayall, Sundials: Their Construction and Use, page 206:

     Usually found on multiface dials, but also used on roofs, wall copings, and so forth.

3. Occurring on or pertaining to multiple faces or sides.
   • 1943, Industry and Welding - Volume 16, page 45:

     Multiface cutting greatly increasees production, and obtains greater accuracy and uniformity in the pieceds produced.

   • 1979, John W. Seybold, Fundamentals of Modern Photo-composition, page 60:

     The multiface perforator was based upon a 32 unit-to-the-em system.

   • 1989, Federal Register - Volume 54, Issues 230-236, page 50715:

     Concern has been expressed that if multiface blasting were permitted, the firing of one face could cause disruption of the blasting circuit in another face resulting in undetonated explosives.

   • 2006, Long-Wen Chang, Wen-Nung Lie, Rachel Chiang, Advances in Image and Video Technology, page 1285:

     By this means multiface texturing can be apply for each building results in a “photo-realistic” city model.

Noun

multiface (plural multifaces)

1. A combination of multiple faces on a single head.
   • 1975, R. Christopher Goodwin, Jeffery B. Walker, Villa Taina de Boqueron, page 82:

     Again, a multiface is present; here the button has two doughnut, punctated eyes with a smoothed, raised appliqué that appears to be a smiling mouth.

   • 1980, Joan G. Caldwell, Betty N. McDermott, Handbook of the Collection: New Orleans Museum of Art, page 169:

     Among these figurines is one, such as this rare example, which portrays multifaces carved on a short column and is known as Sakimatwematwe.

   • 2017, Joseph R Bristol, Human Nature: Seven Suns, page 8:

     His multiface looked angry. His eyebrows knotted and his eyes were burning red.

2. A set of multiple aspects.
   • 1965, United States. Central Intelligence Agency, Daily Report, Foreign Radio Broadcasts - Issues 206-210, page 10:

     There is nationalism in this multiface.

3. (archaeology, anthropology) A stone tool constructed by chipping off flakes from every side.
   • 1988, John F. Doershuk, Plenemuk Mound and the Archaeology of Will County, page 153:

     Unifacial and multifacial tools are, on average, the largest tools at JAAP-1 while edge-only and bifacial tools tend to be similar in average size and somewhat smaller than the unifaces and multifaces.

   • 1988, Charles W. Markman, Putney Landing, page 200:

     Multifaces have at least one flake scar not originating on an edge on more than two faces ( Plate 10.5 ) .

   • 1988, Anthropological Papers - Issues 79-81, page 72:

     As a general rule across the site, the usage patterns of bifaces differed significantly from the usage of multifaces or unifaces.