facet

facet

1. Architect the raised surface between the flutes of a column

2. Zoology any of the lenses that make up the compound eye of an insect or other arthropod

3. Anatomy any small smooth area on a hard surface, as on a bone

---

facet [′fas·ət]

(anatomy)

A small plane surface, especially on a bone or a hard body; may be produced by wear, as a worn spot on the surface of a tooth.

(geography)

Any part of an intersecting surface that constitutes a unit of geographic study, for example, a flat or a slope.

(invertebrate zoology)

The surface of a simple eye in the compound eye of arthropods and certain other invertebrates.

(materials)

The plane surface of a crystal, a cut precious stone, or other fractured surface.

(mathematics)

A proper face of a convex polytope that is not contained in any larger face.