forehead English · revision 15286

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1000}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈfɔɹɛd/, /ˈfɔɹɪd/; /ˈfɔːhɛd/, /ˈfɔːɹɛd/ ''(UK)''; /ˈfɔɹ.hɛd/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|forhed]], [[inh|ang|forhēafod|t=forehead, brow]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|ang|for-|t=fore-]] and [[m|ang|hēafod|t=head]] (see [[fore-]] and [[head]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) Similar formations are [[nl|voorhoofd]] and [[da|forhoved]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The part of the face above the eyebrows: about 1000 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Middle English forheved is probably from before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From 1560 it also meant command of countenance, effrontery or impudence, now obsolete.^(OED 1989) ''To take time by the forehead'' (now usually ''forelock'') is from 1592.^(OED 1989) The front of anything is from 1525,^(OED 1989) and in mining the end of a level from 1747.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – forhēafod.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1525 – the front of something.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1560 – impudence (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1592 – take time by the forehead.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The part of the face between the [[eyebrow|alt=eyebrows]] and the hairline; the [[brow]].^(AHD)

+ # The front part of something.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fore-]]

+ * [[head]]

+ * [[brow]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}