Saturday, July 09, 2005

Word of the Day for Saturday July 9, 2005

mien \MEEN\, noun:
1. Manner or bearing, especially as expressive of mood,
attitude, or personality; demeanor.
2. Aspect; appearance.

He raised and answered the question with the dispassionate
mien of a professor advising a student on a course of
study.
--Edith Anderson, [1]Love in Exile

For her part, Amy soon learned to cloak her self-assurance
and pride in her achievements in a modest mien.
--Adrienne Fried Block, [2]Amy Beach: Passionate Victorian

Here Mnemosyne shows her true face, and she is no young
beauty. Not for her the unlined mien of the younger Muses.
--Vera Schwarcz, [3]Bridge Across Broken Time
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Mien perhaps derives from French mine, "bearing, expression,"
from Breton min, "beak, snout," hence "a person's face."

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