Surface

How to spell surface

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce surface

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does surface mean?

1. nounThe outermost layer or top face of something.
2. verbTo rise to the top, or for something hidden to become apparent.

Surface in a sentence

• noun

  She wiped the kitchen surface before preparing dinner.

• verb

  Old grievances tend to surface during long meetings.

• noun

  The polished surface of the table reflected the ceiling lights.

• verb

  The diver waited a moment before he chose to surface.

Where does surface come from?

Language of origin: French

The word came into English from French in the 1600s, where surface was coined from sur- meaning 'above' or 'over' and face meaning 'face' or 'outward appearance'. That French face descended from the Latin facies, which meant 'form, figure, or face', and behind it lies the verb facere, 'to make or do'. So a surface is literally the 'over-face' of something, the outermost layer that the eye meets first. The same Latin facies sits inside familiar relatives such as 'facade' and 'superficial', the latter even sharing the 'above the face' idea quite directly. The spelling trap is the quiet ending: it sounds like '-fiss' but is written -face, and the middle is one unstressed schwa, not the doubled or vowel-heavy form people sometimes expect.

How the word is built

• sur- (above, over)
• face (from Latin facies: face, form, appearance)