physiognomist

1 9.9

A person who judges someone's character from their face

noun
/ˌfɪziˈɑːɡnəmɪst/

Archaic

: fisiognomista

As a skilled physiognomist, she could often tell if someone was friendly or hostile just by looking at their face.

Examples

In the story alluded to, "the great physiognomist" correctly identifies the character and personality (the qualitas of the soul) of the sitter (who is unknown to him) from his portrait.

Academic text (2007)
The physiognomist analyzed the man's facial features to determine his personality traits.
So the physio, the physiognomists are saying that, look, these things over here, yes, they're unscientific, but what we're doing is scientific.
During the lecture, the physiognomist explained how certain facial characteristics can reveal someone's character.

Surface Forms

physiognomist singular

physiognomists plural

Morphology

physiognomist = physiognomy (transparent) = physiognomy + ist

Agentive suffix '-ist' added to the noun 'physiognomy' yields a person who practices or studies physiognomy, a derivation clear to learners.

Etymology

Physiognomist breaks into parts that mean 'body' and 'judge' — physio- means 'body', as in physical, and -gnomist comes from a root meaning 'judge' or 'know'. So a physiognomist is someone who tries to 'judge' a person's character from their face.