Façade

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /fəˈsɑːd/

Alternative forms

• facade

Origin

Borrowing from fr {{2}} façade, from Italian facciata, a derivation of faccia ("front"), from Latin facies ("face"); compare face.

Full definition of façade

Noun

1. (architecture) The face of a building, especially the front view or elevation.
• 1865, James Fergusson, A History of Architecture in All Countries:In Egypt the façades of their rock-cut tombs were ... ornamented so simply and unobtrusively as rather to belie than to announce their internal magnificence.
• 1880, Charles Eliot Norton, Historical Studies of Church-Building in the Middle Ages:Like so many of the finest churches, cathedral of Siena was furnished with a plain substantial front wall, intended to serve as the backing and support of an ornamental façade.
2. (by extension) The face or front (most visible side) of any other thing, such as an organ.
3. (figuratively) A deceptive or insincere outward appearance; a front.

Synonyms

• (face of a building) face, front, frontage
• (deceptive outward appearance) appearance, cover, front, guise, pretence, show

Coordinate terms