facet

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: fac=et

CIDE DICTIONARY

facet, n. [F. facette, dim. of face face. See Face.].

•  A little face; a small, plane surface; as, the facets of a diamond.  [1913 Webster]
•  A smooth circumscribed surface; as, the articular facet of a bone.  [1913 Webster]
•  The narrow plane surface between flutings of a column.  [1913 Webster]
•  One of the numerous small eyes which make up the compound eyes of insects and crustaceans.  [1913 Webster]

facet, v. t. 

 To cut facets or small faces upon; as, to facet a diamond.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

facet, n.
1 a particular aspect of a thing.
2 one side of a many-sided body, esp. of a cut gem.
3 one segment of a compound eye.

Derivative

faceted adj. (also in comb.).

Etymology

F facette dimin. (as FACE, -ETTE)

THESAURUS

facet

angle, anteriority, article, aspect, bold front, border, brave face, brave front, case, circumference, configuration, cortex, count, covering, crust, datum, detail, display, effect, eidolon, element, envelope, epidermis, exterior, external, facade, face, facia, fact, factor, fashion, feature, figure, fore, forefront, foreground, forehand, foreland, forepart, forequarter, foreside, foreword, form, fringe, front, front elevation, front man, front matter, front page, front view, frontage, frontal, frontier, frontispiece, gestalt, guise, hand, head, heading, image, imago, impression, incidental, instance, integument, item, lap, light, likeness, lineaments, look, manner, matter, minor detail, minutia, minutiae, obverse, outer face, outer layer, outer side, outer skin, outline, outside, particular, periphery, phase, phasis, point, preface, prefix, priority, proscenium, reference, regard, respect, rind, seeming, semblance, shape, shell, side, simulacrum, skin, slant, style, superficies, superstratum, surface, thing, top, total effect, twist, view, viewpoint, window dressing, wise

ROGET THESAURUS

facet

Exteriority

N exteriority, outside, exterior, surface, superficies, skin, superstratum, disk, disc, face, facet, extrados, excentricity, eccentricity, circumjacence, exterior, external, outer most, outward, outlying, outside, outdoor, round about, extramural, extralimitary, extramundane, superficial, skin-deep, frontal, discoid, extraregarding, excentric, eccentric, outstanding, extrinsic, ecdemic, exomorphic, externally, out, with out, over, outwards, ab extra, out of doors, extra muros, in the open air, sub Jove, sub dio, a la belle etoile, al fresco.