mien

Etymology

From French mine (whence also Danish mine and German Miene), appearance, perhaps from Breton min, face of an animal, or from Latin minio, to redden^[1].

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /miːn/
• Rhymes: -iːn
• Homophone: mean

Noun

mien (countable and uncountable, plural miens)

1. (countable, uncountable) Demeanor; facial expression or attitude, especially one which is intended by its bearer.
   • 1856, Joseph Turnley, The Language of the Eye, p. 111:^[2]

     Beauty, like all divine gifts, is everywhere to be seen by the eye of the faithful admirer of nature; and, like all spirits, she is scarcely to be described by words. Her countenance and mien, her path, her hue and carriage, often surpass expression, and soothe the enthusiast into reverie and silence.

   • 1860, July 1860, exact date unknown (lyrics and music), “Stephen Foster”, in Jenny's coming o'er the green‎:

     Jenny's coming o'er the green, / Fairer form was never seen, / Winning is her gentle mien; / Why do I love her so?

   • 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 7, in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde‎:

     taking the air with an infinite sadness of mien, like some disconsolate prisoner, Utterson saw Dr. Jekyll.

2. (countable) A specific facial expression
   • 2007, February 10, “Claudia La Rocco”, in Stony Miens and Sad Hearts‎:

     It’s hard to say which is worse: the press-on smiles favored by many a ballet dancer, or the stony “I’m going to pretend this isn’t happening to me” miens often found in contemporary troupes like White Road.

References

Anagrams

• Emin, Mine, mine

Etymology

From Latin meum, the neuter of Latin meus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mjɛ̃/

• audio

  (file)

Adjective

mien (feminine singular mienne, masculine plural miens, feminine plural miennes)

1. (archaic) my

See also

• mon, ma, mes

Further reading

• “mien” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• mine, miné

Etymology

Latin meum.

Adjective

mien

1. (stressed) my; mine

Etymology

From English main.

Adjective

mien

1. main

Pronoun

mien

1. my

See also

• dien (your, thy)
• sien (his)
• mie (me)
• ons (our)
• onsa (us)

Further reading

• Plautdietsch Lexicon of 17,000 words

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmi̯ɛn/

Noun

mien

1. genitive plural of mena

Noun

mien

1. genitive plural of meno

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

mien f

1. carrot