front

pronunciation

How to pronounce front in British English: UK [frʌnt] word uk audio image

How to pronounce front in American English: US [frʌnt] word us audio image

Noun:

the immediate proximity of someone or something
the side that is forward or prominent
the side that is seen or that goes first
a sphere of activity involving effort
the line along which opposing armies face each other
a group of people with a common ideology who try together to achieve certain general goals
(meteorology) the atmospheric phenomenon created at the boundary between two different air masses
a person used as a cover for some questionable activity
the outward appearance of a person
the part of something that is nearest to the normal viewer
Verb:

be oriented in a certain direction, often with respect to another reference point; be opposite to
confront bodily
Adjective:

relating to or located in the front
located anteriorly

Word Origin

front: front: [13] As its close French relative front still does, front used to mean ‘forehead’. Both come from Latin frōns, a word of dubious origins whose primary meaning was ‘forehead’, but which already in the classical period was extending figuratively to the ‘most forwardly prominent part’ of anything. In present-day English, only distant memories remain of the original sense, in such contexts as ‘put up a brave front’ (a now virtually dead metaphor in which the forehead, and hence the countenance in general, once stood for the ‘demeanour’).The related frontier [14], borrowed from Old French frontiere, originally meant ‘front part’; its modern sense is a secondary development.=> frontier

front (n.): late 13c., "forehead," from Old French front "forehead, brow" (12c.), from Latin frontem (nominative frons) "forehead, brow, front; countenance, expression (especially as an indicator of truthfulness or shame); facade of a building, forepart; external appearance; vanguard, front rank," a word of "no plausible etymology" (de Vaan). Perhaps literally "that which projects," from PIE *bhront-, from root *bhren- "to project, stand out" (see brink). Or from PIE *ser- (4), "base of prepositions and preverbs with the basic meaning 'above, over, up, upper'" [Watkins, not in Pokorny]. Sense "foremost part of anything" emerged in the English word mid-14c.; sense of "the face as expressive of temper or character" is from late 14c. (hence frontless "shameless," c. 1600). The military sense of "foremost part of an army" (mid-14c.) led to the meaning "field of operations in contact with the enemy" (1660s); home front is from 1919. Meaning "organized body of political forces" is from 1926. Sense of "public facade" is from 1891; that of "something serving as a cover for illegal activities" is from 1905. Adverbial phrase in front is from 1610s. Meteorological sense first recorded 1921.

front (v.): 1520s, "have the face toward," from Middle French fronter, from Old French front (see front (n.)). Meaning "meet face-to-face" is from 1580s. Meaning "serve as a public facade for" is from 1932. Related: Fronted; fronting.

front (adj.): "relating to the front," 1610s, from front (n.). Front yard first attested 1767; front door is from 1807. The newspaper front page is attested from 1892; as an adjective in reference to sensational news, 1907.

adj.