In the direction or manner of the face; regarding the face or front surface specifically.
Compound of 'face' and '-wise' (a suffix meaning 'in the manner of' or 'with respect to'). The -wise suffix comes from Old English and is still used in words like 'likewise' and 'clockwise.'
The '-wise' suffix is incredibly productive in English—you can add it to almost any noun to create an adverb describing direction or manner, which is why new words like 'timeline-wise' sound natural even though they're brand new!
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