late 15c., "to behave or act," from countenance (n.). Sense of "to favor, patronize" is from 1560s, from notion of "to look upon with sanction or smiles." Related: Counte [..]

mid-13c., from Old French contenance "demeanor, bearing, conduct," from Latin continentia "restraint, abstemiousness, moderation," literally "way one contains oneself," f [..]

(v.) Permitted or tolerated; (n.) a facial expression.

 fair shew.

(n) the appearance conveyed by a person's face(n) formal and explicit approval(n) the human face (`kisser' and `smiler' and `mug' are informal terms for `face' and `phiz' [..]

To sanction, to support. Approval or disapproval is shown by the countenance. The Scripture speaks of “the light of God’s countenance,” i.e. the smile of approbation, and to [..]

fair shew

To dream of a beautiful and ingenuous countenance, you may safely look for some pleasure to fall to your lot in the near future; but to behold an ugly and scowling visage, portends unfavorable transactions.