1755, from French prepositional use of the adj. vis-à-vis "face to face," from Old French vis "face" (see visage).
Entries linking to vis-a-vis
visage n.
c. 1300, from Anglo-French and Old French visage "face, countenance; portrait," from vis "face, appearance," from Latin visus "a look, vision," from past participle stem of videre "to see" (from PIE root *weid- "to see"). Visagiste "makeup artist" is recorded from 1958, from French.