Hypertext Webster Gateway: "grimace"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Grimace \Gri*mace"\ (gr[i^]*m[=a]s"), n. [F., prob. of Teutonic
origin; cf. AS. gr[imac]ma mask, specter, Icel. gr[imac]ma
mask, hood, perh. akin to E. grin.]
A distortion of the countenance, whether habitual, from
affectation, or momentary aad occasional, to express some
feeling, as contempt, disapprobation, complacency, etc.; a
smirk; a made-up face. [1913 Webster]
Moving his face into such a hideous grimace, that every
feature of it appeared under a different distortion.
--Addison.
[1913 Webster]
Note: ``Half the French words used affectedly by Melantha in
Dryden's ``Marriage a-la-Mode,'' as innovations in our
language, are now in common use: chagrin,
double-entendre, ['e]claircissement, embarras,
['e]quivoque, foible, grimace, na["i]vete, ridicule.
All these words, which she learns by heart to use
occasionally, are now in common use.'' --I. Disraeli.
[1913 Webster]
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Grimace \Gri*mace"\, v. i.
To make grimaces; to distort one's face; to make faces. --H.
Martineau.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
grimace
n : a contorted facial expression; "she made a grimace at the
prospect" [syn: {face}]
v : contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional
state; "He grimaced when he saw the amount of homework he
had to do" [syn: {make a face}, {pull a face}]
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