Crossword Genius

Permit face to be seen? (11)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

countenance

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'permit' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'to be seen?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'be' could be 'count' (counting is a kind of being) and 'count' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'face' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for countenance that I've seen before include "A person's face; admit as possible" , "Approve of - human face" , "appearance" , "Accept as possible; face" , "Favour" .)

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