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effaces

 - 3 dictionary results

ef⋅face

  [i-feys]
–verb (used with object), -faced, -fac⋅ing.
1. to wipe out; do away with; expunge: to efface one's unhappy memories.
2. to rub out, erase, or obliterate (outlines, traces, inscriptions, etc.).
3. to make (oneself) inconspicuous; withdraw (oneself) modestly or shyly.
Use effaces in a Sentence
Origin:
1480–90; < MF effacer. See ef-, face

Related forms:
ef⋅face⋅a⋅ble, adjective
ef⋅face⋅ment, noun
ef⋅fac⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To effaces
ef·face   (ĭ-fās')   
tr.v.   ef·faced, ef·fac·ing, ef·fac·es

  1. To rub or wipe out; erase.

  2. To make indistinct as if by rubbing: "Five years' absence had done nothing to efface the people's memory of his firmness" (Alan Moorehead). See Synonyms at erase.

  3. To conduct (oneself) inconspicuously: "When the two women went out together, Anna deliberately effaced herself and played to the dramatic Molly" (Doris Lessing).


[Middle English effacen, from French effacer, from Old French esfacier : es-, out (from Latin ex-, ex-) + face, face; see face.]
ef·face'a·ble adj., ef·face'ment n., ef·fac'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

efface 
1490, from M.Fr. effacer, from O.Fr. esfacier, from es- "out" + face "appearance," from L. facies "face."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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