Etymograph

English

visage

Visage comes from Anglo-Norman visage, from Vulgar Latin *vīsāticum ‘appearance, face’, and ultimately from Latin vīdērunt ‘to see’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīdērunt1as vidēre‘to see’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīsus1‘appearance, sight’
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*vīsāticum1‘appearance, face’reconstructed
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400visage1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500visage1‘face’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1769visage1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English visage
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1769, Firishta, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi: “[T]he monſter, rouſed by the noiſe, ſtarted forward, preſented…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīdēruntWiktionary, English visageas vidēre‘to see’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīsusWiktionary, English visage‘appearance, sight’
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*vīsāticumWiktionary, English visage‘appearance, face’reconstructed
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400visageWiktionary, English visage
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500visageWiktionary, English visage‘face’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1769visageWiktionary, English visage. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1769, Firishta, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi: “[T]he monſter, rouſed by the noiſe, ſtarted forward, preſented…”

Formed from -age ‘noun suffix’

Linked words

through Latin vīdērunt ‘to see’

survey, visible, envy, 1 more

through Latin vīsus ‘appearance, sight’

advice, vision, visual, advise, improvise, 7 more

Today it means

noun Countenance; one's face.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “visage”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin vīdērunt / visage

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