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Definition: Surface |
SurfaceAdjective1. On the surface; "surface materials of the moon". 2. Involving a surface only; "her beauty is only skin-deep"; "superficial bruising"; "a surface wound". Noun1. The outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary; "there is a special cleaner for these surfaces"; "the cloth had a pattern of red dots on a white surface". 2. The extended two-dimensional outer boundary of a three-dimensional object; "they skimmed over the surface of the water"; "a brush small enough to clean every dental surface"; "the sun has no distinct surface". 3. The outermost level of the land or sea; "earthquakes originate far below the surface"; "three quarters of the Earth's surface is covered by water". 4. A superficial aspect as opposed to the real nature of something; "it was not what it appeared to be on the surface". 5. Information that has become public; "all the reports were out in the open"; "the facts had been brought to the surface". 6. A device that provides reactive force when in motion relative to the surrounding air; can lift or control a plane in flight. Verb1. Come to the surface. 2. Put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface; "coat the cake with chocolate". 3. Appear or become visible; make a showing; "She turned up at the funeral"; "I hope the list key is going to surface again". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "surface" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1258. (references) |
Note: Surface \Sur"face\, transitive verb. [imperfect & past participle. Surfaced; Surfacing.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Aerospace | 1. A two-dimensional extent; the outside or superficies of any body; especially, the surface of the earth, either land or water, used in combinations as surface-to-air, etc.2. A wing, rudder, propeller blade, vane, hydrofoil, or the like - applied in this sense to the entire structure or body. (references) |
Building & Civil Engineering | A general term for a constructed surface:the upper part of an area comprising a street, a road or a footway. Source: European Union. (references) |
Mining | A. The top of the ground. As used in the conveyance of coal in place, or in a conveyance of land reserving the minerals, includes not merely the surface within the boundary lines, without thickness, but includes whatever earth, soil, or land lies above the superincumbent upon the coal or mineral reserved. b. See:cover; drift; mantle; overburden. c. In geology, usually refers to (1) the boundary surface between one bed or mass of rock and another immediately adjacent, such as a bedding surface, a fault surface, a surface of unconformity, a surface of igneous compact, or (2) an imaginary surface, such as the axial surface of a fol. (references) |
Physics | The boundary separating the body from the surrounding space. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Area is a quantity expressing the size of a region of space. Surface area refers to the summation of the exposed sides of an object. Area (Cx2) is the derivative of volume (Cx3). Area is the antiderivative of length (Cx1).
Units
Units for measuring surface area include:
Old British units, as currently defined from the metre:
- square metre - SI derived unit
- are - 100 square metres
- hectare - 10,000 square metres
- square kilometre - 1,000,000 square metres
The article Orders of magnitude links to lists of objects of comparable surface area.
- square foot (plural feet) - 0.09290304 square meters.
- square yard - 9 square feet - 0.83612736 square metres
- square perch - 30.25 square yards - 25.2928526 square metres
- acre - 160 square perches or 43,560 square feet - 4046.8564224 square metres
- square mile - 640 acres - 2.5899881103 square kilometres
Some formulas
For a two dimensional object the area and surface area are the same:
Some basic formulas for calculating surface areas of three dimensional objects are:
- square or rectangle: l × w (where l is the length and w is the width; in the case of a square, l = w.
- circle: &pi×r2 (where r is the radius)
- any regular polygon: P × a / 2 (where P = the length of the perimeter, and a is the length of the apothem of the polygon [the distance from the center of the polygon to the center of one side])
- a parallelogram: B × h (where the base B is any side, and the height h is the distance between the lines that the sides of length B lie on)
- a trapezoid: (B + b) × h / 2 (B and b are the lengths of the parallel sides, and h is the distance between the lines on which the parallel sides lie)
- a triangle: B × h / 2 (where B is any side, and h is the distance from the line on which B lies to the other point of the triangle). Alternatively, Heron's formula can be used: √(s×(s-a)×(s-b)×(s-c)) (where a, b, c are the sides of the triangle, and s = (a + b + c)/2 is half of its perimeter)
- the area between the graphss of two functions is equal to the integral of one function, f(x), minus the integral of the other function, g(x).
- cube: 6×(s2) , where s is the length of any side
- rectangular box: 2×((l × w) + (l × h) + (w × h)), where l, w, and h are the length, width, and height of the box
- sphere: 4×π×(r2) , where &pi is the ratio of circumference to diameter of a circle, 3.14159..., and r is the radius of the sphere
- cylinder: 2×π×r×(h + r), where r is the radius of the circular base, and h is the height
- cone: π×r×(r + √(r2 + h2)), where r is the radius of the circular base, and h is the height.
See also
An artist should feel free to add some example diagrams.
- Synthetic geometry
- Geometric algebra
Ill-defined areas
If one adopts the axiom of choice, then it is possible to prove that there are some shapes whose area cannot be meaningfully defined; see Lebesgue measure. Such 'shapes' (they cannot a fortiori be simply visualised) enter into Tarski's circle-squaring problem (and, moving to three dimensions, in the Banach-Tarski paradox). The sets involved will not arise in practical matters.
External Link
- Conversion Calculator for Units of AREA
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Area."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
simple:SkinSkin is a resilient protective layer of cellss protecting the muscles and organss of animals. Skin is formed in several layers. Living skin is a material of exceptional quality, with good temperature tolerance and insulating ability. As well as these functions, skin has roles of vitamin D production, sensation and excretion (through sweat).
Skin on creatures regularly subjected to sunlight have pigmentation which absorbs the potentially dangerous radiation contained therein. Human skin pigmentation varies across populations in a visually dramatic manner. This has sometimes led to the classification of people(s) on the basis of skin color. See the article on human skin color for more information.
Mammalian skin often contains hairs, which in sufficient density is called fur. The hair mainly serves to augment the insulation the skin provides. On some animals the skin is very hard and thick, and can be processed to create leather.
Damaged skin will try to heal by forming scar tissue, often giving rise to discoloration and depigmentation of the skin.
The skin is often known as "the largest organ in the human body": this does not only (obviously) apply with regard to surface area, but also with regard to weight, as it weighs more than any single internal organ.
Layers
Skin is composed of the epidermis and the dermis. Below these layers lies the hypodermis, which is not usually classified as a layer of skin. The outermost epidermis is made up of stratified squamous epithelium with an underlying basement membrane. It contains no blood vessels, and is nourished by diffusion from the dermis. The main type of cells which make up the epidermis are keratinocytes, with melanocytes and Langerhans Cells also present. The epidermis can be further subdivided in to the following strata (beginning with the outermost layer): corneum, lucidum, granulosum, spinosum, basale. Cells are formed through mitosis at the innermost layers. They move up the strata changing shape and composition as they differentiate and become filled with keratin. They eventually reach the corneum and become sloughed off. This process is called keratinization and takes place within days (check?).The dermis lies below the epidermis and contains a number of structures including blood vessels, nerves, hair follicles, smooth muscle, glands and lymphatic tissue. It is made up of dense connective tissue - collagen, elastin and reticular fibres are present. The main cell types are fibroblasts, adipocytes (fat storage) and macrophages. The dermis can be split in to the papillary and reticular layers. The papillary layer is outermost and extends in to the dermis to supply it with vessels. It is composed of loosely arranged fibres. Papillary ridges make up the lines of the hands. The reticular layer is more dense and is continuous with the hypodermis. It contains the bulk of the structures (such as sweat glands). The reticular layer is composed of irregularly arranged fibres and resists stretching.
The hypodermis is not part of the skin, and lies below the dermis. Its purpose is to attach the skin to underlying bone and muscle as well as supplying it with blood vessels and nerves. It is made up of loose connective tissue and elastin. The main cell types are fibroblasts, macrophages and adipocytes (the hypodermis contains 50% of body fat). Fat serves as padding and insulation for the body.
Types
Skin can be dividided in to thick and thin types. Thick skin is present on the soles of the feet and the palms of the skin. It has a larger stratum corneum with a higher keratin content. Thick skin does not grow hair. Its purpose is to help grip. Thin skin is present on the bulk of the body and has a smaller stratum corneum and fewer papillae ridges. It has hair and is softer and more elastic.
Aging
As skin ages is becomes thinner and more easily damaged. Intensifying this effect is the decreasing ability of skin to heal itself. Skin sagging is caused by the fall in elasticity. Skin also receives less blood flow and lower gland activity.In medicine, the branch concerned with the skin is called dermatology.
The skin is subject to constant attack from without, and so can be afflicted by numerous ailments, such as:
Regarding exposure of the skin to the view by others, and preventing that, see nudity, nudism, modesty, clothing.
- Skin cancer
- Rashes
- Acne
- Fungal infections such as athletes foot
- microbial infections.
Fruit such as orangess also have a skin or peel, which is often removed (peeled) before eating.
- '\'See also'': Birthmark
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Skin."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In mathematics, a surface is a 2-manifold. In what follows, all surfaces are considered to be second-countable (see the Topology Glossary) and without boundary.
Connected, compact surfaces can be divided into three infinite sequences:
Non-compact connected surfaces are just these with one or more (possibly infinitely many) punctures. The precise statement is that one removes a closed, totally disconnected set from a connected, compact surface. A surface can be embedded in R3 if it is orientable or if it has at least one puncture. All can be embedded in R4. To make some models, attach the sides of these (and remove the corners to puncture):
- Orientable with characteristic 2-2n (spheres with n handles)
- Non-orientable with characteristic 1-2n (projective planes with n handles)
- Non-orientable with characteristic -2n (Klein bottles with n handles)
* * B B v v v ^ *>>>>>* *>>>>>* v v v ^ v v v v A v v A A v ^ A A v v A A v v A v v v ^ v v v v v v v ^ *<<<<<* *>>>>>* * * B Bsphere real projective plane Klein bottle torus (punctured: Möbius band) (sphere with handle)
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Surface."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In Physics, a surface is a set of elements with pairwise measured distance d, satisfying the following properties:
such that for all elements T with d( T, A ) < d( K, A ) holds
- For any two distinct elements A and B there are elements X and Y such that
- d( Y, A ) < d( X, A ) < d( B, A ),
- d( Y, X ) < d( X, A ),
- d( Y, X ) < d( X, B ),
- d( Y, B ) < d( X, B ),
- d( Y, B ) < d( B, A ); and
- for any four distinct elements A, B, C, and Q, which satisfy d( Q, A ) < d( C, B ) < d( C, A ) < d( B, A ) < d( C, A ) + d( C, B ), holds
- either Vol( A, B, C, Q ) = 0, or
- there exist elements J and K with d( K, A ) < d( J, A ) < d( C, A ) < d( J, A ) + d( K, A )
Vol( A, J, K, T ) / Area( A, J, K ) ≤ ½ Vol( A, B, C, Q ) / Area( A, B, C ). Here Vol(), as a function of four elements, denotes the Volume of the corresponding 3-simplex (i.e. tetrahedron), expressed in terms of the six distance values (pairwise) between these four elements by Tartaglia's formula; and Area() , as a function of three elements, denotes the Area of the corresponding 2-simplex (i.e. triangle), expressed in terms of the three distance values (measured pairwise) between these three elements by Heron's formula.
In topology as applicable to physics, a surface is a topological space which satisfies for any three elements:
- there are two closed sets with nonempty and disjoint interiorss, whose boundaries have these three elements in common, and
- any third closed set with nonempty interior, whose border contains these three elements as well, shares some of its interior with either one or both of the first two closed sets. (Cmp. Kuratowski's theorem concerning the Graph K3, 3.)
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Surface (physics)."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Surface chemistry is the study of chemical phenomena that occur at the interface of two phases, usually between a gas and a solid or between a liquid and a solid.One important aspect of surface chemistry studies is to determine whether a molecule attaches itself to a surface by chemisorption or by physisorption. Surface chemistry is of particular importance to the field of heterogeneous catalysis.
The advent of scanning probe microscopies like atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning-tunneling microscopy (STM) has stimulated a considerable increase in research activity in surface chemistry. This increase is part of a more general interest in nanotechnology.
Behaviour in solution surface chemistry and colloid chemistry is dependent on the surface charge and the potential distribution in the surrounding electrical double layer.
Irving Langmuir was one of the founders of this field, and a scientific journal on surface chemistry bears his name. The Langmuir adsorption equation is used to model monolayer adsorption where all surface adsorption sites have the same affinity for the adsorbing species.
External links
- The American Chemical Society journal, Langmuir
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Surface chemistry."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| SUR | English | Surface | Mathematics, Engineering & Technology |
| SUP | French | Surface utile de programme | Building & Civil Engineering |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: SurfaceSynonyms: skin-deep (adj), superficial (adj), surface(a) (adj), aerofoil (n), airfoil (n), control surface (n), open (n), coat (v), come on (v), come out (v), come up (v), rise (v), rise up (v), show up (v), turn up (v). (additional references) |
| Antonyms: overhead (adj), subsurface (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Deceiver | Noun: deceiver; (deceive; ); dissembler, hypocrite; sophist, Pharisee, Jesuit, Mawworm, Pecksniff, Joseph Surface, Tartufe, Janus; serpent, snake in the grass, Judas, wolf in sheep's clothing; jilt; shuffler, stool pigeon. |
Exteriority | Noun: exteriority; outside, exterior; surface, superficies; skin; (covering); superstratum; disk, disc; face, facet; extrados. |
Intelligibility | Verb: be intelligible; Adjective: speak for itself, speak volumes; tell its own tale, lie on the surface. |
Manifestation | Phrase: cela saute aux yeux; he that runs may read; you can see it with half an eye; it needs no ghost to tell us; the meaning lies on the surface; cela va sans dire; res ipsa loquitur; "clothing the palpable and familiar"; fari quae sentiat; volto sciolto i pensieri stretti; "you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows". |
Neglect | Scamp; trifle, fribble; do by halves; cut; slight; (despise); play with, trifle with; slur, skim, skim the surface; effleurer; take a cursory view of. |
Rotundity | Curved surface, hypersphere; hyperdimensional surface. |
Texture | Texture, surface texture; intertexture, contexture; tissue, grain, web, surface; warp and woof, warp and weft; tooth, nap. (roughness); flatness (smoothness); fineness of grain; coarseness of grain, dry goods. |
Vehicle | Train; accommodation train, passenger train, express trail, special train, corridor train, parliamentary train, luggage train, freight train, goods train; st class train, nd class train, rd class train, st class carriage, nd class carriage, rd class carriage, st class compartment, nd class compartment, rd class compartment; rolling stock; horse box, cattle truck; baggage car, express car, freight car, parlor car, dining car, Pullman car, sleeping car, sleeper, dome car; surface car, tram car, trolley car; box car, box wagon; horse car; bullet train, shinkansen, cannonball, the Wabash cannonball, lightning express; luggage van; mail, mail car, mail van. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Surface |
| English words defined with "surface": change surface, Conical surface ♦ Developable surface ♦ Earth's surface, Equipotential surface, Evaporating surface ♦ Faying surface, fire surface, Flue surface ♦ Grate surface ♦ hard surface, horizontal surface ♦ interfacial surface tension ♦ Level surface ♦ of a surface of revolution ♦ paved surface ♦ quadric surface ♦ road surface, Ruled surface ♦ Skew surface, surface area, surface assimilation, surface fire, surface gauge, Surface of elasticity, Surface of flotation, Surface plate, Surface printing, surface search radar, surface ship, surface soil, surface tension ♦ To develop a curved surface on a plane, Twisted surface ♦ Vaporizing surface, vertical surface ♦ Warped surface, Wave surface, work surface. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "surface": superficies. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Surface" is also a word in the following language with English translations in parentheses. French (area, ground, surface, top). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | I had a mad impulse to throw you down on the lunar surface and commit interstellar perversion (Manhattan; writing credit: Woody Allen ; Marshall Brickman) On the surface, everything seems fine (Jerry Maguire; writing credit: Cameron Crowe) To glide like a dream on the smooth surface of the lake, and never go to the shore (The Swan; writing credit: Ferenc Molnár; John Dighton) Think of it. On the surface there is hunger and fear (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; writing credit: Jules Verne; Earl Felton) To the surface of a deadly poisonous planet, and beyond (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command; writing credit: Nick Dubois; Greg Weisman) | |
Lyrics | On the surface I'm a name on a list ((I Just) Died In Your Arms; performing artist: Cutting Crew) He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready (Lose Yourself; performing artist: EMINEM) But something on the surface it stinks (The Remedy (I Won't Worry); performing artist: JASON MRAZ) When it hardened he looked at the surface (Birdland; performing artist: Patti Smith) The surface informs that underneath, (Bittersweet Me; performing artist: R.E.M.) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Film That Rises to the Surface of Clarified Butter (1968) Surface perdue (1966) Below the Surface (1938) Mexico Surface Transit (1898) Scratch the Surface (1997) | |
Song Titles | Shower Me With Your Love (performing artist: Surface) The First Time (performing artist: Surface) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References |
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Books |
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Periodicals | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Line drawing showing the lining of the GI tract: colorectal (muscularis). The walls of the digestive tract have four layers of tissue: mucosa, submucosa, muscularis externa and serosa. The inner-most layer is the mucosa, a membrane that forms a continuous lining of the GI tract from the mouth to the anus. In the large bowel, this tissue contains cells that produce mucus to lubricate and protect the smooth inner surface of the bowel wall. Connective tissue and muscle separate the muscosa from the second layer, the submucosa, which contains blood vessels, lymph vessels, nerves and mucus-producing glands. Next to the submucosa is the muscularis externa, consisting of two layers of muscle fibers-one that runs lengthwise and one that encircles the bowel. The fourth layer, the serosa, is a thin membrane that produces fluid to lubricate the outer surface of the bowel so that it can slide against adjacent organs. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |  | Shown is a scanning electron micrograph of the surface of human skin. Credit: Dr. Bruce Wetzel. |
 | A rickettsia is visible near luminal surface of hypertrophied capillary endothelial cellt (lower right). Transmission electron micrograph. Credit: CDC. |  | B. anthracis Colony Characteristics: A. 2-5mm overnight at 35 degrees centigrade without carbon dioxide B. Non-hemolytic, non-pigmented, dry ground glass surface, edge irregular with comma projections, “Medusa Head”. Credit: CDC. |
 | "Scherk's Surface 1" by Carlos César de Araújo. |  | "Pseudo I-WP" by Alan Schoen. An approximation to a unit cell of Schoen's I-WP surface. Click on Edit inside DPGraph for extensive comments. More ... |
 | Buzz Aldrin on Lunar Surface. Credit: NASA. |  | Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package. Credit: NASA. |
 | Long Shadows on the Lunar Surface. Credit: NASA. |  | Lunar Surface Ultraviolet Camera. Credit: NASA. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Play | Caption | Play | Caption |
 | A quarter thrown onto a flat surface and allowed to spin for awhile. | | Dropping a sack of coins onto a flat surface. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | We who in engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. |
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus | Look beneath the surface; let not the several quality of a thing nor its worth escape thee. |
Oliver Goldsmith | I... chose my wife as she did her wedding-gown, not for a fine glossy surface, but such qualities as would wear well. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Communist Manifesto | 1848 | The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the whole surface of the globe. (reference) |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | From the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty all the German surface warships which are not in German ports cease to belong to Germany, who renounces all rights over them. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | The man had not again risen to the surface. |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | Only the trained diver can go down into those depths and explore them and come to the surface again |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | The preacher let his arms and hands float on the surface. |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | To make a railroad round the world available to all mankind is equivalent to grading the whole surface of the planet |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Then examine the ventral surface. (references) | |
Blebs-Cysts on or near the surface of the lungs. (references) | ||
New tissue can then grow over the now-smooth surface. (references) | ||
Business | Only 30% of Mexico's entire arable surface is worked with motor-driven vehicles. (references) | |
They concentrate 43.6% of the active tractors, as well as 26.1% of the arable surface of the whole country. (references) | ||
The principal clients today are the mechanical and surface treatment (cleaning and disinfection) industries. (references) | ||
Economic History | Colombia | Rules apply to both air and surface shipments. (references) |
Nepal | Surface transport in and out of Nepal is severely constrained. (references) | |
Portugal | Scratch the surface of almost any major project in Portugal and you turn up the presence of EU funds. (references) | |
Political Economy | REPUBLIC OF KOREA | While preemptive and predatory filings are on the decline, "sleeper" preemptive registrations still surface on occasion. (references) |
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | Government policy prohibits new foreign investment in a number of areas including national defense production; forest exploitation; and domestic air, surface and water transportation. (references) | |
PHILIPPINES | E.O. 259 bans imports of soap and detergents containing less than 60 percent coconut-based surface active agents of Philippine origin, thereby requiring local sourcing by soap and detergent manufacturers. (references) | |
Trade | Finland | In surface transportation, it is the Customs Office at the frontier. (references) |
Argentina | The plots in the FTZ measure 15m x 50m, which is equivalent to 750 m2 of surface. (references) | |
Eq. Guinea | Three copies of invoices are requested for surface shipments and four copies for air shipments. (references) | |
Travel | Greece | Greek inland surface transportation is via a road and railroad network. (references) |
Chad | To ship goods to Chad by surface or air, it is recommended that a freight forwarder (transitaire) be used. (references) | |
Nepal | Nepal has only 10,000 kilometers of motorable roads and surface travel is difficult, especially during the June to September rainy season. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | OBSESSED, p.p. Vexed by an evil spirit, like the Gadarene swine and other critics. Obsession was once more common than it is now. Arasthus tells of a peasant who was occupied by a different devil for every day in the week, and on Sundays by two. They were frequently seen, always walking in his shadow, when he had one, but were finally driven away by the village notary, a holy man; but they took the peasant with them, for he vanished utterly. A devil thrown out of a woman by the Archbishop of Rheims ran through the trees, pursued by a hundred persons, until the open country was reached, where by a leap higher than a church spire he escaped into a bird. A chaplain in Cromwell's army exorcised a soldier's obsessing devil by throwing the soldier into the water, when the devil came to the surface. The soldier, unfortunately, did not. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
John Quincy Adams | 1825-1829 | Our relations with the numerous tribes of aboriginal natives of this country, scattered over its extensive surface and so dependent even for their existence upon our power, have been during the present year highly interesting. |
James K. Polk | 1845-1849 | As our boundaries have been enlarged and our agricultural population has been spread over a large surface, our federative system has acquired additional strength and security. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Surface" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.82% of the time. "Surface" is used about 8,999 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.82% | 8,983 | 1,064 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.12% | 11 | 106,044 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 0.04% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Total | 100.00% | 8,999 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "surface" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Surface | Last name | 2,000 | 7,119 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
| Country | Name |
| United Kingdom | Surface Technology Systems PLC |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "surface": absorbing surface ♦ acting surface ♦ adjusting surface ♦ Advancing surface ♦ air surface zone ♦ air to surface missile ♦ air to surface vessel radar ♦ antisymmetry surface restraint ♦ approach surface ♦ bad surface ♦ bezier surface ♦ blended surface ♦ body of surface water ♦ Body Surface Potential Mapping ♦ Caustic surface ♦ Cell Surface Extensions ♦ Center of a surface ♦ change surface ♦ cockled surface ♦ cold front above surface ♦ cold surface ♦ come up to the surface ♦ concrete surface ♦ conical surface ♦ contact surface ♦ control surface ♦ control surface angle ♦ control surface balance ♦ curve or surface ♦ curved surface ♦ Cylindric surface ♦ Cylindrical surface ♦ Degree of a surface ♦ depleted phreatic surface ♦ Developable surface ♦ Diametral surface ♦ earth surface ♦ Earth's surface ♦ entrance surface dose ♦ Equipotential surface ♦ Evaporating surface ♦ Faying surface ♦ fillet surface ♦ fire surface ♦ Flue surface ♦ Following surface ♦ generated surface ♦ glossy surface ♦ Grate surface ♦ groundwater surface ♦ hard surface ♦ Heating surface ♦ Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ♦ horizontal surface ♦ hyperdimensional surface ♦ illuminating surface of a lighting device ♦ illuminating surface of a retro reflector ♦ illuminating surface of a signalling lamp other than a retro reflector ♦ inner horizontal surface ♦ inner surface ♦ interfacial surface energy ♦ interfacial surface tension ♦ isopycnic surface ♦ laminated working surface ♦ landing surface ♦ Level surface ♦ lie on the surface ♦ lower surface of wing ♦ mating surface ♦ Merozoite Surface Protein 1 ♦ mobile surface station ♦ multiple surface quilt ♦ neutral surface ♦ nuclear surface burst ♦ obstacle clearance surface ♦ of a surface of revolution ♦ on the surface ♦ on the surface it seems that ♦ on the surface of it ♦ outer horizontal surface ♦ paved surface ♦ pedal surface ♦ penetration of obstacle clearance surface ♦ perfectly rough surface ♦ perfectly smooth surface ♦ perte de surface cultivée ♦ phreatic surface ♦ pitted surface ♦ polar equation of a surface ♦ polished surface ♦ porous road surface ♦ profile of the surface of revolution ♦ prognostic surface chart ♦ quadric surface ♦ randomly textured surface ♦ reflecting surface ♦ rise to the surface ♦ road surface ♦ road surface influence ♦ rough planed surface ♦ ruled surface. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "surface": surface-active, surface-active agent, Surface-Active Agents, surface-antigen, surface-assimilative, surface-based, surface-brightness-diameter, surface-car, surface-catalysed, surface-charge, surface-coatings, surface-coloured, surface-connected, surface-cum-seepage, surface-deep, surface-derived, surface-design, surface-dived, surface-dry, surface-dwelling, surface-effects, surface-electron, surface-enrichment, surface-facing, surface-feeding, surface-gleaning, surface-grammatical, surface-harden, surface-hardened, surface-immobilised, surface-induced, surface-iodinated, surface-labelling, surface-launched, surface-level, surface-litter, surface-living, surface-man, surface-mount, surface-mounted, surface-mounting, surface-noise, surface-of, surface-pattern, surface-perturbing, surface-plane, surface-positive, surface-read, surface-ripened, surface-run, surface-sensitive, surface-shoaling, surface-sized, surface-skimming, surface-snatching, surface-sterilized, surface-syntax, surface-to-air, surface-to-air missile, surface-to-air missile system, surface-to-air-guided missile, surface-to-mass, surface-to-surface, surface-to-surface missile, surface-to-surface-guided missile, surface-tow, surface-water. | |
Ending with "surface": near-surface, sea-surface, sub-surface, surface-to-surface, under-surface. | |
Containing "surface": air-to-surface missile. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "surface"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | syprinë (superficies), sipërfaqe (area, extent, face, radius, sheet, superficies, surf), pamje e jashtme (appearance, exterior, externals, façade, garb, jib, person, show, superficies, surf), i sipërfaqësor (skin deep, superficial), i mbitokës, faqe (aspect, cheek, façade, face, flat, form, front, generation, hillside, layer, page, side). (various references) | |
Arabic | صفحة (exterior, outside, page), فوق السطح (superficially), سطحي (cursory, exterior, external, facile, frothy, perfunctory, peripheral, primary, shallow-minded, sketchy, skin deep, slight, superficial, unexperienced, unintelligent), سطح (face, flat, flatness, flatten, press, prostrate, roof, spread, superficies), طلع الى السطح, جعل له سطحا, المظهر الخارجي (exterior), السطح الانسيابي الحامل, ظهر (appear, arise, back, brighten up, bring out, come to light, declare, declassify, define, denote, develop, evidence, exercise, exhibit, express, feature, image, indicate, infer, loom, manifest, mark, note, occur, outcrop, parade, peep, play up, poke, pop up, proclaim, produce, reveal, show, show up, spring, turn up, walk). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | външност (appearance, aspect, exterior, exteriority, externals, habit, looks, mien, outside, outward, person, personage), външен (adventitious, adventive, exterior, external, extraneous, extrinsic, foreign, formal, inorganic, ostentatious, outdoor, outer, out-of-door, outside, outward, over, overall, oversea, overseas, showy), земна повърхност, бегъл (cursory, fugitive, hurried, sketchy, superficial), повърхностен (airy, blanket, borax, cheap, cursory, dilettante, external, facile, flimsy, frothy, glib, lip-deep, outward, perfunctory, shallow, sketchy, skin deep, slick, subaerial, sublime, superficial, terrain, trumpery, yeasty), повърхност (fringe, sheet, side, stretch, superficies, top), повърхнина (area, superficies), плоскост (flat, flatness, level, plane). (various references) | |
Chinese | 表面 (appearance, face, outside). (various references) | |
Czech | strana (end, flank, hand, page, part, party, side), vyplout na hladinu, vynořit se (appear, arisen, bob up, Debouch, emerge), vnìjšek (externals, outside), rovina (grade, level, plain, plane), povrch (superficies, top), plocha (area, flat, plane, space, tract), opatřit kobercem, hladina. (various references) | |
Danish | top (peak, point, summit, tip, top), overflade (summit, top). (various references) | |
Dutch | oppervlakte (area, summit, top), oppervlak (summit, top). (various references) | |
Esperanto | surfaco, supro (summit, top), supraĵo (summit, top). (various references) | |
Faeroese | yvirflati. (various references) | |
Farsi | نما (Air, Diagram, Front, Hue, Index, Louver, Visage), تسطیح کردن (Grade), سطحی (Planar, Shallow, Sketchy, Superficial), سطح (External, Sheet), جلادادن (Burnish, Japan, Polish, Varnish), رویه (Comportment, Cover, Instep, Ism, Metier, Procedure, Scheme, Tack, Tenor, Top, Upper, Vamp), ظاهری (Exterior, Outward, Outwards, Seeming, Superficial), ظاهر (Apparent, Appearance, Aspect, External, Face, Garb, Guise, Habit, Hue, Look, Mien, Ostensible, Outside, Rind), بیرون (Abroad, Away, External, Out, Outdoor, Outdoors, Outside, Without). (various references) | |
Finnish | vedenpinta, todellinen pinta, pintamuotoilu (NT:surface modelling, surface model), pintamallinnus (NT:surface modelling, surface model), pinta (exterior, plane), pinnallinen (shallow, superficial), päällyste (coating, covering, top), kamara (crust). (various references) | |
French | surface (land surface), superficie (superficies). (various references) | |
Frisian | oerflak. (various references) | |
German | Fläche (acreage, area, expanse, face, field, flat, plane, sheet, summit, top), oberfläche (face, finish, surface area, top), belag (coating, covering, facing, filling, film, fur, layer, lining, paving, plaque, topping), auftauchen (appear, appearance, arise, bob up, break, come up, crop out, emerge, emersion, figure, materialize, pop up, show up, to appear, to emerge, to turn up, turn up). (various references) | |
Greek | επιφάνεια (epiphany). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מישור (level, plain, plane, plateau), משטח (extent, flat, layer, plane, stretch), ל"קציע (plane, scrape off, shave, smooth), לצוף (float, flow, ride), שטחי (cursory, perfunctory, shallow, sketchy, skin deep, superficial), שטח (area, field, ground, plane, precinct, realm, spread, tract, zone), פן (face, facet), פ ים (appearance, countenance, expression, face, front, outside, physiognomy, visage), פ י "שטח (terrain), על פ י "שטח (on the surface, superficially), חיצו י (ecto, exterior, external, extraneous, extrinsic, out, outer, outward). (various references) | |
Hungarian | felszín (area, face, level, periphery, superficies, top, veneer), felület (area, exfoliation, face, finish, periphery, table). (various references) | |
Indonesian | permukaan (level). (various references) | |
Italian | superficie (area, expanse, top), cima (crown, genius, height, hilltop, peak, ridge, rope, spire, summit, tip, top). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 面 (face, facial features, mask, mug), 表 (exterior, face, front, outside, right side). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | うわつら (appearances, exterior, top), じょうぶ (durable, gentleman, good health, hero, manly person, robustness, solid, strong, top part, warrior), め" (corner, dismissal, face, face guard, facial features, mask, mug, noodles, page, raw cotton, side or facet), つら (corner, face, face guard, facial features, mask, mug, page, side or facet), うえ (above, after, as far as ... is concerned, authority, besides, emperor, far better, higher, hunger, influence of, lord, my dear, on top of, over, shogun, sovereign, starvation, summit, superior, up, upon, upper part), うわ (outer, top, upper, upward), うわかわ (cuticle, epidermis, epithelium, outer skin, rind, skin, upper side), じょうめ" (appearances, exterior, top), うわっつら (appearances), おもて (exterior, face, first half, front, head, mat covers, outside, right side, the street), うわべ (exterior, outside, outward appearance, seeming), うわがわ (upper side), ひょうめ" (appearance, face, ice surface, outside), ひょうそう (mounting, outer layer), そとづら (exterior, outward appearance), がいめ" (exterior, outward appearance), うわっかわ (upper side). (various references) | |
Korean | 표면 (superficial, surfaces). (various references) | |
Manx | eaghtyr (overburden, superstructure, top of water, upper works of ship, vamp of shoe), cur crackan er (colour), cheet gys baare varrey, baare (apex, cap, climax, crest of wave, curl, end, film on milk, interval, point, ruin, summit, tip, toe, top). (various references) | |
Papiamen | superficie. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | urfacesay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | superfície (area, content, contents, face, kerf, space, summit, superficies, top). (various references) | |
Romanian | suprafaţã (area, face, field, grass, rind, space, tract), satina (glaze, hot-press, plate, satinize), zonã (area, belt, country, digging, district, neighborhood, neighbourhood, parish, patch, province, sector, space, zone), polei (brighten, fill, glazed frost, veneer), pava (cobble, pave, stone), lustrui (brighten, brush up, burnish, clean, furbish, glass, glaze, gloss, polish, polish up, rub up, shine, sleek), la suprafaţã (on the face of it), faţã (appearance, aspect, complexion, countenance, face, forefront, foreground, front, head, index, look, mug, Phiz, Snoot, visage), cuprins (area, compass, comprised, content, contents, expanse, extent, field, included, inflamed, region, stretch, summary, well off, well to do), asfalta (asphalt, bituminize, pitch), arie (air, area, extent, melody, tune, zone), apreta (hot-press, starch, stiffen), aparenţã (appearance, name, pageant, show), întindere (area, compass, expanse, expansion, extension, extent, field, flatting, length, measure, pull up, reach, scope, space, spread, stretch, stretching, sweep, width). (various references) | |
Russian | внешняя сторона (exteriority, outer face), наружная поверхность (superficies), надводный (above water), поверхность (area, superficies), поверхностный (cursory, lip-deep, perfunctory, perfunctory inspection, sketchy, skin deep, skin-deep, sophomoric, superficial). (various references) | |
Scottish | uachdar (cream, summit, top), mullach (summit, the top, top, upper end), b rr (point; crop; superiority : a, summit, top), aodann (face, visage), aghaidh (against, face, front : an aghaidh). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | površinski, površina (superficies), izbiti na površinu (come up to the surface). (various references) | |
Spanish | superficie (area, deck, face, outside, summit, superficies, top), exterior (exterior, external, foreign, foreign parts, out, outer, outlying, outside, outward, upper, wing, winger). (various references) | |
Swedish | yta (area, extent, face, outside, top, whine). (various references) | |
Thai | เกี่ยวกับพื้นผิว, เป็นที่ปรากฏ, เคลือบผิว, โผล่ขึ้นมาที่พื้นผิว, พื้นผิวที่เป็นของแข็ง, พื้น"ินหรือพื้นน้ำ, ผิวเผิน (superficial), ผิวหน้า, ทำให้เกลี้ยงเกลา, ลักษ"ะ ายนอก (guise, looks). (various references) | |
Turkish | yüzeysel (cosmetic, shallow, skin deep, superficial, tangential), yüzeye çıkmak, yüzeye çıkarmak, yüzey (face, plane, superficies), ortaya çıkmak (appear, approve oneself, arise, burst, come along, come forward, come in sight, come in view, come into the open, come out, crop out, crop up, debouch, emerge, fall out, occur, offer, outcrop, shape, show up, spawn, spring, turn up), meydana çıkmak, kanat (aerofoil, fin, flank, flanking, flap, leaf, limb, pinion, plane, ptero-, Van, wing), günışığına çıkmak, düzleştirmek (even, flatten, level, slick, smooth), dış görünüş (appearance, color, colour, disguise, externals, façade, fashion, get up, guise, rind, semblance, shape, shell, superficies, the outer man, varnish), cilalamak (apply polish, blanch, burnish, finish, furbish, give a polish, gloss, luster, polish, shine, varnish, veneer, wax), üst (covering, high, senior, superior, top, upper). (various references) | |
Turkmen | ьst (top, upper part), яьz (face, side), keюbi. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | випливати на поверхню, обтісувати (adz, adze, beard, broach, character, chip, citify, dub, polish), зовнішність (exterior, externality, front, guise, mien, outside, outward, person, physique, seeming, semblance), земна поверхня, поверхня (side, superficies). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | mặt (pan, plane, side). (various references) | |
Welsh | wyneb (area, aspect, face, front), ton (billow, breaker, lay-land, skin, wave), pen (apex, chief, end, head, pate, summit, supreme, top), caen (coating, peel), arwynebedd (area, superficies), arwyneb (plane). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | campi, campis, campo, camporum, campos, campum, campumque, campus, clivum, culmen, superficie, superficiem, superficies, superfluam, terga, tergo, tergum. (various references) |
| Old English | 450-1100 | sceat. (various references) |
| Old French | 900-1400 | sur-. (various references) |
| French | 1500-Modern | surface. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "surface": surfaced, surfacer, surfacers, surfaces. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "surface": hypersurface, resurface, subsurface, undersurface. (additional references) | |
Words containing "surface": hypersurfaces, resurfaced, resurfacer, resurfacers, resurfaces, subsurfaces, undersurfaces. (additional references) | |
| |
"Surface" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: serface, sifaka, sruface, surfac, surfice, surfuse, Truffade. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "surface" (pronounced ser"fus) |
| 5 | s er" f u s | resurface. |
| 3 | -f u s | amorphous, edifice, interoffice, office, preface, snafus, subsurface, typhus. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-e-f-r-s-u" | |
-1 letter: causer, cesura, facers, farces, fauces, feuars, saucer. | |
-2 letters: acres, arcus, aures, cafes, cares, carse, cause, cruse, cures, curfs, curse, ecrus, escar, facer, faces, farce, fares, fears, feuar, races, safer, sauce, scare, scarf, scaur, scurf, serac, sucre, urase, ureas, ursae. | |
-3 letters: aces, acre, arcs, ares, arfs, arse, cafe, care, cars, case, crus, cues, cure. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-e-f-r-s-u" | |
+1 letter: chaufers, factures, farceurs, furcates, furnaces, surfaced, surfacer, surfaces. | |
+2 letters: chauffers, fractures, furcraeas, resurface, surfacers. | |
+3 letters: bifurcates, carrefours, chauffeurs, cofeatures, creampuffs, fruitcakes, luciferase, rechauffes, resurfaced, resurfacer, resurfaces, subsurface, sufferance, superflack. | |
+4 letters: cafetoriums, calciferous, carefullest, carefulness, disgraceful, farinaceous, fiduciaries, fricandeaus, lactiferous, luciferases, resurfacers, resurfacing, subsurfaces, sufferances, superficial, superflacks, trifurcates, ultrafiches. | |
+5 letters: cauliflowers, centrifugals, fraudulences, furtherances, gracefullest, gracefulness, hypersurface, manufactures, postfracture, rubefacients, sprachgefuhl, undersurface. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Sounds | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Historic 11. Quotations: Fiction 12. Quotations: Non-fiction | 13. Quotations: Speeches 14. Usage Frequency 15. Names: Frequency 16. Names: Company Usage | 17. Expressions 18. Expressions: Internet 19. Translations: Modern 20. Translations: Ancient | 21. Abbreviations 22. Acronyms 23. Derivations 24. Rhymes | 25. Anagrams 26. Bibliography |
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