mien

Etymology

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

noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Demeanor; facial expression or attitude, especially one which is intended by its bearer.
   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. 1856, Joseph Turnley, The Language of the Eye, →OCLC, //dummy.host/index.php?title=s%3AThe+Language+of+the+Eye%23111 page 111
   Jenny's coming o'er the green, / Fairer form was never seen, / Winning is her gentle mien; / Why do I love her so? 1860, Stephen Foster (lyrics and music), “Jenny's coming o'er the green”
   Although still young at heart and head, he looks more and more like his old friend Archimedes, increasingly bearded and increasingly grey, with an otherworldly mien – a look that should earn him a spot in the online quiz featuring portraits of frumpy old men under the rubric “Prof or Hobo?” July 23rd 2015, Siobhan Roberts, “John Horton Conway: the world’s most charismatic mathematician”, in The Guardian
2. (countable) A specific facial expression.
   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. February 10 2007, Claudia La Rocco, “Stony Miens and Sad Hearts”, in New York Times