front English · revision 2524

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la frōns}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /frʌnt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|front]] (also [[m|enm|frount]]), [[bor|fro|front|t=forehead, brow]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|frōns|t=forehead, brow; front, facade]] (accusative [[m|la|frontem]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) which de Vaan finds to have no plausible etymology.^(Etymonline) Klein and Barnhart suggest a root [[ine-pro|*bhren-|t=to project, stand out]], comparing Irish words for the prow of a ship.^(Klein 1966)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[affront]], [[confront]], [[effrontery]], [[frontier]] and [[frontispiece]].^(Klein 1966)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The forehead: about 1300,^(Barnhart 1988) or the late 13th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “the foremost part of anything” appears before 1338, in Mannyng's ''Chronicle'',^(Barnhart 1988) or the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) The face as showing character is from the late 14th century, hence ''frontless'', “shameless”, about 1600.^(Etymonline) The foremost part of an army is from the mid-14th century, the field of operations facing the enemy from the 1660s, and the ''home front'' from 1919.^(Etymonline) The verb meant “to face” from 1523,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate)^(HTOED) and “to confront” from 1525.^(HTOED) ''In front'' is from the 1610s.^(Etymonline) A public facade is a ''front'' from 1891, a cover for illegal activity from 1905, the boundary between air masses from 1921, and an organized political grouping from 1926.^(Etymonline) ''Frontal'' is from 1656.^(Barnhart 1988) The ''front door'' is named from 1807 and the newspaper ''front page'' from 1892.^(Etymonline) ''To front'', to serve as a public face for something, is from 1932.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – the forehead.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1338 – the foremost part (Mannyng).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-14th century – the front of an army.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1523 – verb, to face.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1610s – ''in front''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1660s – the battle front.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1891 – a public facade.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1905 – a cover for crime.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1921 – a weather front.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1926 – a political front.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The forward part or surface, as of a building.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The area or position directly ahead.^(AHD)

+ # A position of leadership: ''in the front of the race''.^(AHD)

+ # ''(poetic)'' The forehead or face.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # An outward, often false, appearance; a [[facade]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A person or business serving as a cover for secret or illegal activity.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # The zone of military operations facing the enemy.^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(meteorology)'' The boundary between two air masses.^(Etymonline)

+ # A coalition of political groups.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or at the front.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(phonetics)'' Of a vowel, made toward the front of the mouth.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To face or look out on.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # To confront.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # To serve as a front for; to lead a band.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[affront]]

+ * [[effrontery]]

+ * [[confront]]

+ * [[frontier]]

+ * [[frontal]]

+ * [[frontispiece]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}