Facade
Etymology
From French "façade," from Italian "facciata," from "faccia" (face), ultimately from Latin "facies" (face, appearance). A building’s facade is literally its face, and the metaphor of a false front followed naturally.
noun · /fuh-SAHD/
The main, outward-facing front of a building, designed as its public face.
What it names
The deliberately composed exterior a building presents to the street — and, by extension, any front put on to impress, which is why "a facade" also means a false show.
Example
The grand marble facade hides a cheap steel shed behind it.
Related idea
The facade is the whole front elevation of a building; a cornice is one horizontal molded projection crowning it near the top. The cornice is a feature on the facade, not the facade itself.
noun · /fuh-SAHD/
A deceptive outward appearance that hides the reality behind it.
What it names
a false front of emotion or respectability.
Example
Behind a facade of calm, she was panicking.
Related idea
The building’s public front turned into a metaphor for a person’s.