What is "face card"

Face \Face\ (f[=a]s), n. [F., from L. facies form, shape, face, perh. from facere to make (see Fact); or perh. orig. meaning appearance, and from a root meaning to shine, and akin to E. fancy. Cf. Facetious.]

1. The exterior form or appearance of anything; that part which presents itself to the view; especially, the front or upper part or surface; that which particularly offers itself to the view of a spectator.

   A mist . . . watered the whole face of the ground.
   --Gen. ii. 6.

   Lake Leman wooes me with its crystal face.
   --Byron.

2. That part of a body, having several sides, which may be seen from one point, or which is presented toward a certain direction; one of the bounding planes of a solid; as, a cube has six faces.

3. (Mach.)

   1. The principal dressed surface of a plate, disk, or pulley; the principal flat surface of a part or object.

   2. That part of the acting surface of a cog in a cog wheel, which projects beyond the pitch line.

   3. The width of a pulley, or the length of a cog from end to end; as, a pulley or cog wheel of ten inches face.

4. (Print.)

   1. The upper surface, or the character upon the surface, of a type, plate, etc.

   2. The style or cut of a type or font of type.

5. Outside appearance; surface show; look; external aspect, whether natural, assumed, or acquired.

   To set a face upon their own malignant design.
   --Milton.

   This would produce a new face of things in Europe.
   --Addison.

   We wear a face of joy, because We have been glad of yore.
   --Wordsworth.

6. That part of the head, esp. of man, in which the eyes, cheeks, nose, and mouth are situated; visage; countenance.

   In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.
   --Gen. iii. 19.

7. Cast of features; expression of countenance; look; air; appearance.

   We set the best faceon it we could.
   --Dryden.

8. (Astrol.) Ten degrees in extent of a sign of the zodiac.
   --Chaucer.

9. Maintenance of the countenance free from abashment or confusion; confidence; boldness; shamelessness; effrontery.

   This is the man that has the face to charge others with false citations.
   --Tillotson.

10. Presence; sight; front; as in the phrases, before the face of, in the immediate presence of; in the face of, before, in, or against the front of; as, to fly in the face of danger; to the face of, directly to; from the face of, from the presence of.

11. Mode of regard, whether favorable or unfavorable; favor or anger; mostly in Scriptural phrases.

    The Lord make his face to shine upon thee.
    --Num. vi. 25.

    My face [favor] will I turn also from them.
    --Ezek. vii. 22.

12. (Mining) The end or wall of the tunnel, drift, or excavation, at which work is progressing or was last done.

13. (Com.) The exact amount expressed on a bill, note, bond, or other mercantile paper, without any addition for interest or reduction for discount; most commonly called face value. --McElrath. Note: Face is used either adjectively or as part of a compound; as, face guard or face-guard; face cloth; face plan or face-plan; face hammer. Face ague (Med.), a form of neuralgia, characterized by acute lancinating pains returning at intervals, and by twinges in certain parts of the face, producing convulsive twitches in the corresponding muscles; -- called also tic douloureux. Face card, one of a pack of playing cards on which a human face is represented; the king, queen, or jack. Face cloth, a cloth laid over the face of a corpse. Face guard, a mask with windows for the eyes, worn by workman exposed to great heat, or to flying particles of metal, stone, etc., as in glass works, foundries, etc. Face hammer, a hammer having a flat face. Face joint (Arch.), a joint in the face of a wall or other structure. Face mite (Zo["o]ll.), a small, elongated mite ( Demdex folliculorum), parasitic in the hair follicles of the face. Face mold, the templet or pattern by which carpenters, etc., outline the forms which are to be cut out from boards, sheet metal, etc. Face plate.

    1. (Turning) A plate attached to the spindle of a lathe, to which the work to be turned may be attached.

    2. A covering plate for an object, to receive wear or shock.

    3. A true plane for testing a dressed surface. --Knight. Face wheel. (Mach.)

       1. A crown wheel.

       2. A wheel whose disk face is adapted for grinding and polishing; a lap. face value the value written on a financial instrument; same as face[13]. Also used metaphorically, to mean apparent value; as, to take his statemnet at its face value. Cylinder face (Steam Engine), the flat part of a steam cylinder on which a slide valve moves. Face of an anvil, its flat upper surface. Face of a bastion (Fort.), the part between the salient and the shoulder angle. Face of coal (Mining), the principal cleavage plane, at right angles to the stratification. Face of a gun, the surface of metal at the muzzle. Face of a place (Fort.), the front comprehended between the flanked angles of two neighboring bastions. --Wilhelm. Face of a square (Mil.), one of the sides of a battalion when formed in a square. Face of a watch, clock, compass, card etc., the dial or graduated surface on which a pointer indicates the time of day, point of the compass, etc. Face to face.

          1. In the presence of each other; as, to bring the accuser and the accused face to face.

          2. Without the interposition of any body or substance. ``Now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face.'' 1
             --Cor. xiii. 12.

       3. With the faces or finished surfaces turned inward or toward one another; vis [`a] vis; -- opposed to back to back.

          To fly in the face of, to defy; to brave; to withstand.

          To make a face, to distort the countenance; to make a grimace; -- often expressing dislike, annoyance, or disagreement.
          --Shak.

n. (context cards English) A playing card which has a picture on it (usually Jack, Queen or King, but can include Ace or Joker).

n. one of the twelve cards in a deck bearing a picture of a face [syn: picture card, court card]

In a deck of playing cards, the term face card is generally used to describe a card that depicts a person as opposed to the pip cards. They are also known as court cards, picture cards, or until the early 20th century, coat cards.

While playing cards were invented in China, Chinese playing cards do not have a concept of face cards. When playing cards arrived in Iran, the Persians created the first face cards. In their Ganjifeh decks, each suit had ten pip cards that are outranked by a mounted vizier and a seated king. Cards were transmitted further west where Mamluk Egypt created a third court card. Their court cards didn't show any faces to prevent idolatry. Instead they showed abstract designs or calligraphy for the malik (king), nā'ib malik (viceroy or deputy king), and thānī nā'ib (second or under-deputy). Both Mamluk and modern decks include three face cards per suit, or twelve face cards in a deck of four suits. It wasn't until the arrival of cards in Europe around 1370 that illustrators could add human figures again. In a 1377 description of cards, the most common decks were structurally the same as the modern 52-card deck. Each suit contained a seated king and two marshals, one holding the suit symbol upwards while the other downwards. The marshals correspond to the Ober and Unter ranks in modern-day German and Swiss playing cards. Less popular decks included ones in which two kings were replaced with queens, all the kings replaced by queens, queens and maids added so as to make 15 cards per suit, and 5 or 6 suited decks with only the kings and two marshal ranks.

In Italy and Spain, the Unter and Ober was replaced by the standing Knave and the mounted Knight before 1390, perhaps to make them more visually distinguishable. In 15th-century France, the knight was dropped in favour of the queen. The 15th-century Italian game of trionfi added more ranks, usually female counterparts to the existing male courts. The Cary-Yale deck had the most with six ranks: king, queen, knight, mounted lady, knave, and damsel or maid for a total of 24. It is unlikely that the Cary-Yale deck was designed for a game in mind as it was an expensive wedding gift and was probably never played.

Current playing cards are structured as follows:

• German and Swiss playing cards have three male face cards per suit, Unter/Under (a lower-class man or soldier), Ober (a higher ranking man), and König (a seated King).
• Italian and Spanish playing cards have the Fante or Sota ( Knave, a younger man standing), Cavallo or Caballo ( Knight or Cavalier, a man sitting on a horse) and Re or Rey (King, wearing a crown). Italian suited kings are seated while Spanish suited kings stand. A few Spanish suited patterns replace male knaves with female counterparts.
• French playing cards replaced the middle male with the Queen so it became Knave or "Jack", Queen, and King. French suited Kings stand.
• French and Latin tarot decks have four face cards per suit. Their order is Knave, Knight, Queen, and King for a total of 16 face cards. Figures appearing on tarot trumps are not considered to be face cards.

While modern decks of playing cards may contain one or more Jokers depicting a person (such as a jester or clown), Jokers are not normally considered to be face cards. The earliest Jokers, known as Imperial Bowers or Best Bowers, didn't depict human beings until the late 1860s.