Physiognomy Physiognomy Physiognomy (from the Greek φύσις "physis" meaning "nature" and "gnomon" meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is a practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. It is often linked to racial and sexual stereotyping. The term can also refer to the general appearance of a person, object, or terrain without reference to its implied characteristics—as in the physiognomy of an individual plant (see plant life-form) or of a plant community (see vegetation). Credence of such study has varied. The practice was well accepted by the ancient Greek philosophers, but fell into disrepute in the
Body language movement of any part of the body or the body as a whole; in layman's terms, it is the study of body language. However, Ray Birdwhistell, who is considered the founder of this area of study, never used the term "body language", and did not consider it appropriate. He argued that what can be conveyed with the body does not meet the linguist's definition of language. Birdwhistell pointed out that "human gestures differ from those of other animals in that they are polysemic, that they can be interpreted to have many different meanings depending on the communicative context in which