Etymologically
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forehead

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 16:05. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈfɔɹɛd/, /ˈfɔɹɪd/; /ˈfɔːhɛd/, /ˈfɔːɹɛd/ (UK); /ˈfɔɹ.hɛd/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English forhed, inherited from Old English forhēafod (“forehead, brow”),[2][3][4] from for- (“fore-”) and hēafod (“head”) (see fore- and head).[2][3][5] Similar formations are Dutch voorhoofd and Danish forhoved.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The part of the face above the eyebrows: about 1000 in the OED.[6] Middle English forheved is probably from before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle.[3]

Semantic evolution

From 1560 it also meant command of countenance, effrontery or impudence, now obsolete.[6] To take time by the forehead (now usually forelock) is from 1592.[6] The front of anything is from 1525,[6] and in mining the end of a level from 1747.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – forhēafod.[6]
  • 1525 – the front of something.[6]
  • 1560 – impudence (obsolete).[6]
  • 1592 – take time by the forehead.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The part of the face between the eyebrows and the hairline; the brow.
  2. The front part of something.

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press