confront English · revision 39558

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1568|origins=la frōns}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kənˈfɹʌnt/, /kɒnˈfɹɒnt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|confronter]], recorded in French from the 15th century,^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-med|cōnfrontō|t=to assign limits; to border on]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) attested from the 12th century.^(OED 2026) That verb was formed from [[con-]] and [[m|la|frōns|t=forehead, face]], the source of [[front]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) [[affront]] comes from the same Latin noun.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To stand in front of someone, to face: c. 1568, in a journal of Queen Mary's proceedings.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Word Origins explains the word as meaning literally to be face to face with someone.^(Cresswell 2021) The hostile sense, to face in defiance or opposition, is recorded from 1580 according to Barnhart, and 1594 in the OED, in Shakespeare's ''Titus Andronicus'';^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026) to face an accused person as an accuser or witness appears in Sidney's ''Arcadia'' (before 1586).^(OED 2026) The sense "bring face to face", especially an accused and the accusers, dates from 1627, and setting things side by side for comparison from 1604.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) For a few years (1601–1614) English also used the Medieval Latin sense, to border on.^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) defined it as "to stand against another in full view; to face".^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1568 – to stand facing someone.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1580 – to face in defiance;^(Barnhart 1988) 1594 in the OED.^(OED 2026)

+ * before 1586 – to face as an accuser or witness.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1601–1614 – to border on.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1604 – to set side by side for comparison.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1627 – to bring a person face to face with another.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To face someone boldly or in [[hostility]]; to [[challenge]] or [[oppose]].^(Collins 2023)^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To present someone with something, especially in order to [[accuse]] them: ''The manager confronted the clerk with the missing receipts.''^(Collins 2023)^(AHD 2024)

+ # To deal with a problem or difficulty instead of avoiding it.^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (of a problem or situation) To demand someone's attention: ''the dangers that confront the expedition''.^(Collins 2023)^(AHD 2024)

+ # To stand or be in front of; to face.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[confronter]]

+ * [[confrontment]]

+ * [[confrontal]]

+ * [[confrontation]]

+ * [[confrontational]]

+ * [[reconfront]]

+ * [[unconfronted]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[front]]

+ * [[affront]]

+ * [[frontier]]

+ * [[effrontery]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}