frontn.adj.

Brit.

/frʌnt/, U.S.

/frənt/

Forms: Middle English–1600s frount(e, frunt(e, Middle English Scottish froynt(t, Middle English–1500s fronte, Middle English, 1500s frownt, (Middle English frond), Middle English– front.

Etymology: < Old French and French front, < Latin front-em, frōns the forehead.

I. Forehead, face.

a. = forehead n. 1. Now only poetic or in highly rhetorical language.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > forehead > [noun]

foreheadc1000

frontc1290

brow1535

frontier1583

frontispiecea1625

forestam1790

c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 169/2176 Bote fram þe riȝt half of is frount.

1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 47 A sterre whit Amiddes in her front she [the hors] hadde.

?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 405 Þe calf is rede I undertake, With a white sterne in þe fronte.

c1480 (a1400) St. Machor 1547 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 45 Þe takine of þe cors to mak one þar froynttis.

1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. v. 71 Peple ther..haue only but one eye, and that standeth right in the myddys of the fronte or forhede.

1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. vi. 4 b On theyr heads a Saracoll of Crymson velvet, and before the front the bande, a silver socket set with long feathers.

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. iv. 55 See what a grace was seated on this browe, Hiperions curles, the front of Ioue himselfe.

1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 496 The mark of fool set on his front .

1735 W. Somervile Chace iii. 513 Soon he rears Erect his tow'ring Front.

1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles vi. xxxvii. 272 And bore he..Such noble front, such waving hair?

a1816 R. B. Sheridan School for Scandal (rev. ed.) Portrait in Wks. (1821) II. 3 Ye matron censors..Whose peering eye and wrinkled front declare [etc.].

1846 E. Bulwer-Lytton Lucretia III. ii. xiv. 38 Her nostrils dilated, and her front rose erect.

1884 W. Allingham Blackberries (1890) 88 Blear eyes, huge ears, and front of ape.

b. in figurative phrases, after Shakespeare.

ΚΠ

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) i. iii. 80 The very head and front of my offending.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. i. 52 To take the safest occasion by the front .

1816 M. Keating Trav. (1817) I. 15 This was the whole front of his offending.

1878 J. Morley Condorcet 37 Placing social aims at the head and front of his life.

c. rarely used technically, e.g. in Entomology.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > animal body > general parts > head and neck > [noun] > forehead

foreheadc1000

frontlet1659

front1826

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > parts of insects > [noun] > head > middle part of face or front

front1826

1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1828) III. xxxiv. 483 The front of insects may be denominated the middle part of the face between the eyes.

2. By extension: The whole face. Cf. French front. front to front (archaic) = face to face at face n. Phrases 1a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > [noun]

leera700

nebeOE

onseneeOE

wlitec950

anlethOE

nebshaftc1225

snouta1300

facec1300

visage1303

semblantc1315

vicea1325

cheera1350

countenance1393

front1398

fashiona1400

visurec1400

physiognomyc1425

groina1500

faxa1522

favour1525

facies1565

visor1575

complexiona1616

frontispiecea1625

mun1667

phiz1687

mug1708

mazard1725

physiog1791

dial plate1811

fizzog1811

jiba1825

dial1837

figurehead1840

Chevy Chase1859

mooey1859

snoot1861

chivvy1889

clock1899

map1899

mush1902

pan1920

kisser1938

boat1958

boat race1958

punim1965

the world > space > relative position > opposite position > opposite [phrase] > face to face

neb to neblOE

face to (earlier and, for) face1535

front to fronta1585

on (also upon) the square?1611

nose to nose1732

1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) ix. ix. 354 Januarius is paynted wyth two frontes to shewe and to teche the begynnynge and ende of the yere.

c1450 Mirour Saluacioun 791 Nor hire nekke nor hire front vsed sho to bere vppright.

a1513 W. Dunbar Flyting in Poems (1998) I. 203 Fy, feyndly front far fowlar than ane fen.

a1585 P. Hume Flyting with Montgomerie (Tullibardine) ix. 58 in Poems A. Montgomerie (2000) I. 173 Iok Blunt, thrawin frunt.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iv. iii. 234 Front to Front, Bring thou this Fiend of Scotland, and my selfe.

1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 82 Brazen Impudence..hath two fronts, its boasting one, and bold one: with the one they look back..the other looketh forward.

1697 T. Creech tr. Manilius Five Bks. i. ix. 14 These stand not front to front, but each doth view The others Tayl, pursu'd as they pursue.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 292 Antelopes..guarding their Fronts, scampering with their Heads to the Earth, to avoid the..Enemy aloft.

1772 W. Jones Poems 59 Till thrice the sun his rising front has shown.

1802 T. Beddoes Hygëia I. ii. 39 Those..have the courage to treat it, front to front, in a manner corresponding to the enormity of the consequences [etc.].

1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud xxii. i, in Maud & Other Poems 74 For front to front in an hour we stood.

3. †(a) The face as expressive of emotion or character; expression of countenance. Obsolete. (b) Bearing or demeanour in confronting anything; degree of composure or confidence in the presence of danger, etc. Also outward appearance or aspect; façade; spec. a bluff. Also figurative. Cf. sense 7g.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > [noun] > demeanour or bearing > in confronting anything

frontc1374

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > appearance or aspect > [noun] > facial appearance or expression

cheerc1225

lookinga1325

countenancec1330

frontc1374

looka1400

looksc1400

aspect1590

brow1598

cast1653

mien1680

expression1830

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > appearance or aspect > [noun] > mere appearance

shroudc1175

frontc1374

appearancec1384

countenance?c1425

fard1540

show1547

habit1549

outside1578

glimpse1579

superficies?1589

species1598

out-term1602

paint1608

surface1613

superfice1615

umbrage1639

superficials1652

semblance1843

outer womana1845

outward man1846

patina1957

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > face with expression or expression > [noun]

anlethOE

cheerc1225

countenancec1330

facec1330

visage1338

frontc1374

vult?a1400

maid facec1450

walte1524

facies1565

museau1816

shade1817

coupon1962

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > [noun]

hue971

glozea1300

showingc1300

coloura1325

illusionc1340

frontc1374

simulationc1380

visage1390

cheera1393

sign?a1425

countenance?c1425

study?c1430

cloak1526

false colour1531

visure1531

face1542

masquery?1544

show1547

gloss1548

glass1552

affectation1561

colourableness1571

fashion1571

personage?1571

ostentation1607

disguise1632

lustrementa1641

grimace1655

varnish1662

masquerade1674

guisea1677

whitewash1730

varnish1743

maya1789

vraisemblance1802

Japan1856

veneering1865

veneer1868

affectedness1873

candy coating1885

simulance1885

window dressing1903

c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Cambr.) ii. pr. viii. 47 Whan she [fortune] descouereth hir frownt and sheweth hir maneres.

1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 140 [Medea] commanded that her ladies..shold put on the fayr front in entencion to make feste solempne.

1637 T. Heywood Royall King i. i. sig. C^v That face..beares the selfe-same front.

1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 20. ⁋3 A Fellow that is capable of shewing an impudent Front before a whole Congregation.

1762 W. Falconer Shipwreck ii. 33 Who, patient in Adversity, still bear The firmest front.

1810 T. Campbell On Visiting Scene in Argyleshire in Poet. Wks. I. 146 Through the perils of chance..May thy front be unaltered.

1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. vi. 131 The..unclouded front of an accomplished courtier.

1873–4 W. H. Dixon Hist. Two Queens IV. xxii. ix. 221 Kildare..resolved to..meet his accusers with a brazen front.

1900 ‘J. Flynt’ & ‘F. Walton’ Powers that Prey 181 It riles a bloke's sense o' justice to be accused false an' helps him to put up a front.

1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra (1935) 27 There was dancing and a hat-check girl and waiters in uniform and all that front.

1949 E. Coxhead Wind in West vii. 193 While he still put a good front on the affair, she said nothing.

1952 A. Baron With Hope, Farewell 124 It was only a front. He was scared stiff.

1953 R. Lehmann Echoing Grove 136 Will you kindly assist me to preserve a front till Monday?.. My parents have been through enough—we've got to put a face on it.

in extended use.1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. ii. xiv. 309 The league, which had raised so bold a front against the government, had crumbled away.1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xi. 76 The lime~stone bastions..preserved a front of gloom and grandeur.

4. Effrontery, impudence. Cf. face n. 3, forehead n. 2. Now rare. So, †man of front. to have the front: to be sufficiently impudent.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pride > impudence > [noun]

hardiessec1300

boldness1377

malapertness?a1439

over-boldnessc1450

insolencya1513

protervitya1527

impudency1529

sauce malapert1529

petulancy1537

procacitya1538

audacity1545

sauceliness1552

forehead1564

hardihead1579

hardihood1594

outfacing1598

audaciousness1599

impudentness1599

petulancea1600

impertinency1609

impertinence1612

impudencea1616

procacya1620

affrontedness1640

brow1642

front1653

insolence1668

affrontery1679

assurance1699

effrontery1715

affrontiveness1721

swagger1725

imperence1765

cheek1823

sassiness1834

cheekiness1838

pawk1855

gall1882

chutzpah1886

face1890

mouth1891

crust1900

rind1901

smarting1902

hide1916

brass neck1937

1653 H. More Antidote against Atheism in Coll. Philos. Writings (1712) iii. ix. 170 I..wonder how any man, except one of the most hardened front, can [etc.].

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 168. ⁋3 Men of Front carry Things before 'em with little Opposition.

1717 D. Defoe Mem. Church of Scotl. i. 2 With what Front the Absurdities charg'd on her could be broach'd in the World.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 293 None of the commissioners had the front to pronounce that [etc.].

II. Foremost part.

5. Military.

a. The foremost line or part of an army or battalion. Also, †a rank (obsolete), and in words of command; e.g. files to the front, right in front.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > part of army by position > [noun] > van or front

forerunnerseOE

vantward1297

formerward13..

forme-ward13..

vamward1338

fronta1375

pointa1382

frontier?a1400

vawarda1400

forayc1425

avantwardc1440

avant-garde1470

vanward1476

vantguard1485

vanguard1487

foreward1490

forefront1513

foremen1577

forefight?1611

vaunta1616

van1633

first line1663

front line1677

firing line1859

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 3584 In sexe semli batailes..al be-fore in þe frond he ferde þan him-selue.

1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) ii. x. sig. diii But alweyes kyng Lot helde hym in the formest frunte.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 22 Than..ffrochit into þe frount & a fray made.

1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres Gloss. 250 Fronte, a French word, is the face or foreparte of a squadron or battell.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. vii. 8 Both our powers, with smiling Fronts encountring.

1625 G. Markham Souldiers Accidence 6 The Rankes are called Frunts, because they stand formost..but in truth none can properly be called the Frunt, but the ranke which standeth formost.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 105 Front to Front Presented stood in terrible array.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 82 As Legions in the Field their Front display.

1700 S. L. tr. C. Frick Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 61 Commanded Captain Jochem, who led the Blacks, to march in the Front.

1775 R. King Life & Corr. (1894) I. 9 They..began their march, with a very wide Front.

1838–43 T. Arnold Hist. Rome III. xliii. 141 The..Gaulish horse charged the Romans front to front.

1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 7 Files to the front.

1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 18 A column Left in front will bring its rear companies to the front.

1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 19 Open column, right in front—right about face.

b. Line of battle.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [noun] > battle array

arraya1375

ordinancec1385

fielda1393

front1487

stight1489

order of battle?1548

battle array1552

battle1577

battle-rayc1600

battalia1613

war1667

line of battle1695

ORBAT1975

1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xvii. 569 The Inglis men com on sadly..Richt in a frount vith a Baner.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 165 And all fore to þe fight in a frunt hole.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 318 They vsed to terrifie the Barbarians, setting their horses in a doubble front, so as they appeared headed both waies.

1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. 78 If we aduance in a large Front..if in a narrow Front.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 563 Advanc't in view they stand, a horrid Front Of dreadful length.

1710 London Gaz. No. 4744/2 Our ..Army..marched..to Attack the Enemy in full Front.

1838 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece (new ed.) III. 349 The Spartans..preserving an even and unbroken front.

1886 Daily News 13 Sept. 5/7 The troops marched past, the infantry in company fronts and the cavalry by half squadrons.

c. The foremost part of the ground occupied, or in wider sense, of the field of operations; the part next the enemy.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > armed encounter > battlefield > [noun] > front or front line

edge1535

front1665

firing line1859

Eastern Front1914

Western Front1914

line1916

second front1941

warfront1950

1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 440 Not onely the Front as heretofore, but the backside also..rendred unsafe.

1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. xli. 504 Belisarius protected his front with a deep trench.

1810 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) VI. 367 I propose to move up the infantry of the army to the front again.

1848 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 III. vii. 320 One division..was sent to take the stockades in rear, while another..threatened them from the front.

1879 J. C. Fife-Cookson Armies of Balkans i. 6 To see him before his departure for the front next day.

1889 R. Kipling Wee Willie Winkie 72 British Regiments were wanted—badly wanted—at the Front.

1944 Hutchinson's Pict. Hist. War 27 Oct. '43–11 Apr. '44 237 A 20-mile advance on the south of the bulge which opened up a ‘breakthrough’ front 60 miles in width.

1967 J. Marshall-Cornwall Napoleon iv. 50 Only 25,000 were available as a mobile field force, and these were extended..on a front of about 30 miles.

figurative.1846 W. Greener Sci. Gunnery (new ed.) 54 The present state of our artillery requires an advance to the front, to be in a line with the march of science.

d. The direction towards which the line faces when formed. change of front: see to change (one's) front at change v. Phrases 3a; in quot. figurative. to make front to: to face in the direction of; in quot. figurative.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [noun] > line > direction in which line faces

front1832

1832 Proposed Regulations Cavalry iii. 46 Front—The direction towards which the line faces when formed.

1833 Regulations Instr. Cavalry i. i. 14 Front—The whole will face, as accurately as possible, to their former front.

1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. i. i. 15 The improvised Municipals make front to this also.

1879 J. Lubbock Addresses, Polit. & Educ. iv. 92 This change of front seems to be founded on the report of the Board of Education for Scotland.

1891 Daily News 28 Nov. 5/6 The eventuality of a war with two fronts—that is to say, with France and Russia—was foreseen.

e. front of fortification n. see quot. 1859.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > earthwork or rampart > [noun] > bastion > two half bastions and curtain

front of fortification1834

1834 J. S. Macaulay Treat. Field Fortification 21 The outline above traced is called a Front of Fortification.

1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 261 A Front of Fortification consists of two half bastions, and a curtain.

f. With modifying word. Originally: any sphere of non-combatant (esp. domestic) activity during wartime, perceived as part of a wider public contribution to the war effort. Later usually more generally: a particular situation or sphere of operation considered as a sector of social or public life.Recorded earliest in home front n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair > affairs > sphere of activity

fieldOE

limitationc1405

hemisphere?1504

ambitudea1525

world1580

orb1598

spherea1616

ambit1649

scene1737

orblet1841

front1917

parish1940

ballpark1963

shtick1965

1917 Times 11 Apr. 5/6 The unity of the fighting front and the home front [in Germany] ought to be still more thoroughly understood by us.

1929 Nation 4 Dec. 696/1 Gleb's victory on the economic front is somewhat spoiled by his partial defeat on the ‘domestic front’.

1934 A. Huxley Beyond Mexique Bay 6 The amusement front had its duly appointed commissar.

1941 Punch 3 Sept. 211/3 My sister..writes..of the many..economical dishes she is now able to prepare as a result of the B.B.C. talks on the Kitchen Front.

1969 Times 6 Jan. 7/8 But the industry is fighting back on the marketing as well as the political front.

1991 Daily Tel. 5 Jan. 13/4 Doom and gloom on the economic front.

2003 Bitch Fall 49/2 The one who shows us what happens when a woman hasn't succeeded on either the career or the domestic front.

g. transferred. An organized body of political forces.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > a party > [noun] > a combination of parties

bloc1903

block1925

front1926

alliance1963

1926 D. L. Sayers Clouds of Witness vii. 157 A woman..looking like a personification of the United Front of the ‘Internationale’.

1934 Ann. Reg. 1933 ii. 171 A uniform National-Socialist organisation embracing all German workers was called into existence under the designation ‘The German Workers' Front’.

1936 E. A. Peers Spanish Trag. 1930–36 iv. 188 And combine under him [sc. Sr. Azaña] they did—Republican Left, Republican Union, Socialists, Syndicalists, Anarchists, Marxists and Communists—forming, for the purpose of the election campaign, a united phalanx, a ‘Popular Front’, as they called it: Frente Popular.

1940 Amer. Speech 15 453/2 He [sc. Dimitrov]..urged members of the Communist Party to organize ‘Popular Fronts’ in the democracies.

1968 Listener 15 Aug. 195/2 The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

6. Architecture. ‘Any side or face of a building, but more commonly used to denote the entrance side’ (Gwilt); occasionally collective in singular, and plural = ‘the four sides’ (of a mansion). Also back-front, rear front n. 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > [noun] > front or face

front1365

face1591

faciate1648

façade1656

frontsidea1699

frontage1861

1365 in W. H. D. Longstaffe & J. Booth Halmota Prioratus Dunelmensis (1889) 41 Non fecit clausuram tenementi sui de le front.

1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Ezek. xl. 9 He metide..the frount therof in two cubitis.

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 181/1 Frownt, or frunt of a churche, or oþer howsys.

1624 H. Wotton Elements Archit. in Reliquiæ Wottonianæ (1672) 16 And the contrary fault of low distended Fronts, is as unseemly.

1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 26 A Building, which is 25 Feet, both in the Front and Reer Front.

1772 J. Adams tr. A. de Ulloa Voy. S. Amer. (ed. 3) II. 32 The fronts being of stone.

1803 Gazetteer Scotl. at Dundee The Town-house, an elegant structure, with a handsome front.

1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands III. 150 Monastic cloisters with their dark length of front.

1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands III. 166 One of the back-fronts of the old palace.

1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men II. xii. 355 The garden front was most inconveniently embowered..in forest trees.

1893 W. P. Courtney in Academy 13 May 413/1 The fronts of the mansion were decorated with statues by skilled sculptors.

a. gen. The part or side of an object which seems to look out or to be presented to the eye; the fore-part of anything, the part to which one normally comes first. Opposed to back, esp. in objects that have only two sides. Cf. back n.¹ 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > front > [noun]

foremostc1275

headc1275

foreparty1398

forepartc1400

foresidec1400

devant1411

fronture1417

fore-endc1425

frontierc1430

forefront1488

forehead1525

frontc1540

vaunt1589

proscenium1648

frontside1697

van1726

fore-piece1788

façade1839

fore1888

the world > space > relative position > front > [noun] > extent of front

frontc1540

frontage1844

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > [noun] > front surface

foresidec1400

frontc1540

confrontment1604

face1611

frontside1697

obverse1833

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 164^v In þat frunt of þat faire yle Was a prouynse of prise.

1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde ii. x. f. 85^v We found the fyrst front of this land to bee brooder.

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 41^v A lowe kinde of Carre with a couple of wheeles, and the Frunt armed with sharpe Syckles.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. xi. 13 Had he his hurts before?.. I, on the Front.

1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 5 The Front to the Sea is not large, but there are a great many Houses behind it, built up the Side of the Mountain.

1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall V. l. 171 The southern basis presents a front of a thousand miles to the Indian ocean.

1823 H. J. Brooke Familiar Introd. Crystallogr. 287 The opposite angles, edges, and planes, which are supposed to form the back of the engraved figure, are respectively similar to those which appear on its front.

1851 W. B. Carpenter Man. Physiol. (ed. 2) 398 The sternum itself being so largely developed, as to cover almost the entire front of the body.

1893 F. W. Maitland Mem. de Parl. Introd. 92 The skin being thin, the writing on the front could be seen upon the back.

b. transferred. With reference to time: The first period; the beginning. poetic.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > period > [noun] > beginning or end of a period

terminusOE

springinga1398

topc1440

fresh1566

front1609

skirt1624

epoch1673

turn1697

terminus post quem1834

terminus ante quem1858

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets cii. sig. G2 Philomell in summers front doth singe.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Gardener's Daughter in Poems (new ed.) II. 20 More black than ashbuds in the front of March.

1883 R. L. Stevenson Silverado Squatters 237 A hawthorn in the front of June.

†c. = frontier n. 4. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > part of country or district > [noun] > border district(s)

end-landc1175

marcha1325

bounds1340

coast1377

marcherc1475

border1489

marchland1536

confines1548

front1589

limitrophe1589

commark1612

land-march1614

frontier1676

Border-sidea1700

borderland1813

border-countryc1885

rimland1942

1589 R. Greene Spanish Masquerado sig. B4^v When the Sarasens..had inuaded Germanie, and the frontes of France.

1593 C. Hollyband Dict. French & Eng. Les frontieres d'vn pais, the frontiers of a countrey: the front or marches.

d. Mining. = face n. 22a.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > working face or place

witchet1677

face1708

front1717

stope1747

wall1750

web1767

working place1827

wall-face1839

offset1872

wicket1881

upset1883

1717 tr. A. F. Frézier Voy. South-Sea 183 A Mine, which is 40 Varas, or Spanish Yards in Front.

1867 W. W. Smyth Treat. Coal & Coal-mining 140 Let us now turn our attention to the ‘face’ or front of the working.

e. Land facing a road, river, the sea, etc.; a frontage. spec. with the: the promenade of a seaside resort, often with adjoining gardens. Cf. seafront n. 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > tract > [noun] > frontage

frontagea1642

front1766

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > holiday-making or tourism > [noun] > resort > beach or seaside resort

Lido1673

front1766

seaside1782

sea-bath1785

plage1888

Gold Coast1919

society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > path or place for walking > [noun] > promenade > by the sea

marine1615

promenade1648

front1766

marina1798

prom1909

1766 Laws of N. Carolina (1791) 234 The Water Fronts of the Lots herein before mentioned.

1769 Bp. Wilton Inclos. Act 2 Occupiers of ancient messuages, cottages, houses or fronts.

1904 Ward, Lock's Guide Isle of Man 44 The Queen's Promenade..is the part of the Front most favoured by visitors with a taste for quiet.

1920 Glasgow Herald 17 July 7 For them the ‘front’, palpitating with cheerful humanity, is Elysium.

1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock i. i. 20 A blow along the front'll do you good.

1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock i. iii. 42 I'd like to have asked them why he left me like that, to go scampering down the front in that sun.

f. Theatrical. (See quots.) Also front-of-(the-)house attributive phr.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > auditorium > [noun]

front1806

auditorium1854

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > people concerned with theatrical productions > [noun] > those who work before curtain

front1806

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > people concerned with theatrical productions > [adjective] > relating to business staff

front-of-(the-)house1930

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > stage > [adjective] > in front of proscenium arch

front-of-(the-)house1930

1806 G. F. Cooke Diary 6 Dec. in W. Dunlap Mem. G.F.C. (1813) I. 328 Went to the theatre..passed Mr Rae into the front of the house.

1810 W. Scott Let. 30 Mar. (1932) II. 319 There was fine work in the front as they call the audience part of the house.

1894 Evening News 18 Oct. 2/6 Generally speaking, the ‘front of the house’ means the audience; but among theatrical employés the ‘front of the house’ means everybody engaged to work before the curtain.

1930 C. H. Ridge Stage Lighting iv. 62 Front-of-the-house lighting tends to flatness.

1935 C. H. Ridge & F. S. Aldred Stage Lighting viii. 73/2 The following notes may serve to sum up the subject of Front-of-House Lighting.

1961 W. P. Bowman & R. H. Ball Theatre Lang. 149 Front of house; front-of-house; front of the house; abbreviation, F.O.H. 1. The parts of the theatre in front of the proscenium arch. Hence, said of equipment placed therein, as, a front of house light... 4. The personnel and operations of the business staff, including the ushers, as, the front of house staff.

1985 Financial Times 20 July p. xiii/5 The ICA itself provides the performing space and front of house facilities.

g. A person, organization, etc., that serves as a cover for subversive or illegal activities. So front man, front organization. Originally U.S.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > means of concealment > [noun] > of something illegal

blind1694

front1905

1905 McClure's Mag. 24 346 For Brayton was the front, not the head of the System.

1926 J. Black You can't Win iv. 27 The store was but a ‘front’ or blind for a poker game and dice games in the back room.

1934 H. N. Rose Thes. Slang 25/1 Representative Who Poses as the ‘Big Shot’ of a Gang (n. phr.): the front man.

1938 H. Asbury Sucker's Progress 345 Their agent and front man was the Chief of Police.

1940 in Amer. Speech (1941) 16 146/2 Foreign ‘isms’..masquerading behind ‘front’ organizations.

1940 Time 29 Jan. 23/3 Department of Justice investigators believe that Earl Browder is a mere front-man.

1949 M. Miller Sure Thing (1950) 67 It's a front; the Commies control it.

1949 M. Miller Sure Thing (1950) 70 ‘I attended a camp of the Youth League of America.’ ‘You knew..that was merely a front for the Communist Party.’

1951 J. Cornish Provincials 213 I dare say it was all a ‘front’ for spy activities.

1959 ‘M. Erskine’ House of Enchantress ix. 130 He was..respectable-looking and meek,..just the type to make an excellent front for Madame Rosario.

1960 Spectator 16 Sept. 408 He becomes the nark and front-man for an unscrupulous white landlord in a slum-house area.

1965 Spectator 19 Feb. 220/1 A Communist ‘front’ organisation formed and financed by the Communist régime in North Vietnam.

h. Meteorology. A bounding surface or a transition zone between two air masses at different temperatures; also, the line on the ground that marks the lower edge of this surface; so cold front, warm front: the forward boundary of a mass of advancing cold, or warm, air.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > movements and pressure conditions > [noun] > uniform body of air > boundary of

front1921

1921 J. Bjerknes & H. Solberg in Geofysiske Publikationer II. iii. 12 In the first case, the boundary line at the ground will be the front of advancing cold air, or, to introduce a shorter expression, a ‘cold front’. In the latter case, the boundary line will be the front of advancing warm air, or simply a ‘warm front’.

1923 W. N. Shaw Air & its Ways vii. 74 The polar front is regarded as being a bank of air with stream lines..over which the equatorial air is advancing gradually upward by motion directly transverse to the line of motion in the front.

1938 Nature 29 Oct. 804/1 Any pressure system, such as a cyclone, an anticyclone, a trough or a front.

1956 Weather May 147 The front is not a surface but a zone of rapid temperature transition between air masses.

1957 Times 11 May 7/1 A depression near Ireland will be slow moving and associated weak fronts will move slowly N.E. to E. districts.

1970 R. W. Longley Elem. Meteorol. x. 223 A frontal surface is the bounding surface between two air masses... The front is the intersection of such a frontal surface with the ground.

†8.

a. The first part or line of anything written or printed. in the front: at the head. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > written text > layout > [noun] > first part or line

head1560

fronta1568

society > communication > printing > printed matter > arrangement or appearance of printed matter > [noun] > first part or line

head1560

fronta1568

a1568 R. Ascham in A. Fleming Panoplie Epist. (1576) 435 I could not but in y^e very front and beginning of my letter, use this.

1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii. i. xx. f. 155 6. collums, euery front or head whereof is noted with three great letters, D.M.S. signifying degrees, minutes and seconds.

1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 94 A Catalogue of above three hundred Advisers, and his name in the Front.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 27 Thy Name..Shall in the front of every Page be shown.

†b. = frontispiece n. 3 or 4. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > book > leaves or pages of book > [noun] > page > first or title page

title page1592

frontispiece1607

fore-page1623

front1646

title1651

1646 R. Crashaw Steps to Temple 128 If with distinctive Eye, and Mind, you looke Vpon the Front, you see more than one Booke.

a1718 W. Penn Life in Wks. (1726) I. 147 Which the Reader may find in the Front of the Books they [the Prefaces] were designed for.

a. A fore-part or piece having some particular use or function.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > front > [noun] > having specific function

front1847

1847 A. M. Gilliam Trav. Mexico (new ed.) 152 The body of the wagon is about equally balanced over the axletree, the front resting upon the tongue.

1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. II. 467 Pianoforte..in newly designed case with sliding front.

1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. III. 526 Boots and shoes..with elastic fronts and sides.

†b. = frontal n. 2. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > artefacts > cloths, carpets, cushions > cloth (general) > altar cloth > [noun] > at front

hatchOE

frontal1381

pall?a1475

antepend1501

pendle1501

stole1513

suffront1516

altar cloth1522

front1533

altar front1539

antependium1594

fronton1749

altar frontal1836

altar facing1856

1533 in F. W. Weaver Wells Wills (1890) 148 To the gyltyng of the ffrownt at the hye auter.

1539 Peterboro' Inv. in Notes & Queries (1863) 3rd Ser. 4 459 In the Rood Loft..one front of painted cloth.

1552–3 Inventory Church Goods in Ann. Diocese Lichfield (1863) IV. 66 One fronte for an alter of yelowe and grene satten.

c. A band or bands of false hair, or a set of false curls, worn by women over the forehead.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > practice of wearing artificial hair > [noun] > artificial hair > section or lock of

sidelock1530

lock1601

tour1674

snake1676

front1693

bull-tour1724

back-head1731

ramillies tail1782

frontlet1785

frisette1818

toupee1862

postiche1867

switch1870

pin-curl1873

scalpette1881

wig-tail1888

chichi1906

hairpiece1939

fall1943

toup1959

1693 W. Congreve Old Batchelour iv. iii. 35 I undertook the modelling of one of their Fronts, the more modern Structure.

1843 W. M. Thackeray Ravenswing i, in Fraser's Mag. Apr. 472/2 Mamma means her front.

1866 A. Trollope Belton Estate II. vi. 146 The graces of her own hair had given way to a front.

1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 24 Aug. 13/2 A..black velvet band..to keep her auburn front..in its place.

d. That part of a man's shirt which covers the chest and is more or less displayed; a shirt-front; also, a ‘dicky’; also, a similar article of silk, etc. serving as a cravat.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > neck-wear > [noun] > neck-tie or cravat > cravat > types of

bib-cravat1684

burdash1707

chin-cushion1747

King William cravat1747

Soubise1776

front1843

guillotine-cravat1880

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > shirt > part of > front

shirt bosom1748

shirt front1826

front1843

bosom1863

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > shirt > part of > front > detached

half-shirt1661

sham1721

shirtee1805

dicky1807

shirt front1830

front1843

shirt bosom1858

plastron1888

vestee1904

1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xvii. 223 What a very few shirts there are, and what a many fronts.

1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. III. 579 Gentlemen's fronts and stocks.

e. The front part of a woman's garment.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > front

sychts1542

fore-body1611

front1801

1801 J. Austen Let. 6 May (1995) 83 It is to be a round Gown, with a Jacket & a Frock front..to open at the side.

1801 J. Austen Let. 6 May (1995) 83 The front is sloped round to the bosom & drawn in.

1889 Daily News 23 July 7/2 The travelling mantle..buttons the whole way down the front, and is provided with over-fronts which fall straight from the shoulders.

1889 Daily News 23 July 7/2 These fronts are lined with yellow and pink..surah.

1932 E. Bowen To North iv. 38 One wore frills down her front, she was going to have a baby.

10. A position or place situated before something or towards a spectator; forward position or situation. Only in phrases with prefixed prep.

a. in (the) front of (preposition phr.): at a position before, in advance of, facing, or confronting; at the head of (troops). to get in front of oneself: to hurry, ‘hustle’ (U.S. slang). in his, our, etc. front: in front of or facing him, us, etc.The article is now omitted, except in expressions like in the (very) front of (danger etc.) = ‘in the position most exposed to’, ‘bearing the brunt of’.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > front > in front of [preposition]

toforea900

aforeeOE

atforec1000

forneOE

beforeOE

forne toc1175

afornonc1275

forne an, atc1275

forouthc1375

aforewardc1380

before the face ofa1382

forwitha1400

forne inc1540

afront1558

ahead1578

in (the) front of1609

in advance1656

forward of1838

front of1843

the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > going first or in front > in advance or in front [phrase]

to (the) headward1577

in (the) front of1609

to the fore with1646

in one's van1720

in the first flight1852

the world > space > relative position > front > at or in (the) front [phrase]

in (the) front1613

in his, our, etc. front1777

the world > space > relative position > opposite position > opposite [phrase] > facing

in his, our, etc. front1777

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 144 I saw..a pragmatical Portugal..in the front of 40 men marching to the Governor's.

1712 W. Rogers Cruising Voy. 174 We..fir'd..at the Men in Arms in the front of the Church.

1777 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip II I. vii. 221 Behind him there was a little wood and the walls of a convent; and in his front, the morass above mentioned, which was almost impassable.

1816 M. Keating Trav. (1817) I. 225 The standards were faced about, and formed in our fronts.

1832 H. Douglas Ess. Mil. Bridges (ed. 2) iii. 140 Forcing a passage across the river in his front.

1847 A. M. Gilliam Trav. Mexico (new ed.) 256 I was particular to make my servants keep in front of me.

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 1 The proclamation was repeated..in front of the Royal Exchange.

figurative.1609 C. Tourneur Funerall Poeme sig. B3^v I'th'front Of danger, where he did his deedes advance.1817 T. Chalmers Series Disc. Christian Revelation v. 176 Those holy..men..in the front of severest obloquy, are now labouring in remotest lands.1848 W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc Hist. Ten Years II. 345 In the very front of danger.1892 Spectator 12 Mar. 353/1 His majesty will speedily be in front of a new difficulty.1896 Westm. Gaz. 28 July 9/2 The shares had nothing in front of them—no preference or debenture capital.1907 Daily Chron. 21 Oct. 6/4 There is a common American phrase, which expresses better than anything else the curious effect of this policy of ‘hustle’ upon the national temperament. They say that a man gets ‘in front of himself’.

b. in (†the) front (adverbial phr.): in an advanced or forward position; on the side that meets the eye; in a position facing the spectator.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > front > at or in (the) front [phrase]

in (the) front1613

in his, our, etc. front1777

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 380 With his whole forces, in front, [he] assailed.

1700 T. Brown Amusem. Serious & Comical iii. 21 By comes a Christning, with the Reader and the Midwife strutting in the Front.

1748 Acct. Voy. for Discov. North-west Passage I. 133 The upper Story had the two Captains Cabins in Front.

1821 G. W. Manby Voy. Greenland (1823) 134 Determined..to attack him [a bear] in front, I got upon the ice.

1847 A. M. Gilliam Trav. Mexico (new ed.) 76 These dirt hovels presented a bold contrast with the city behind, and the wealthy church in front.

1847 A. M. Gilliam Trav. Mexico (new ed.) 99 A kind of shawl [which] by being crossed in front, obscures the bosom.

1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight ix. 129 The most injurious direction for light to come from is that directly in front.

1895 Sc. Antiquary 10 78 Setting an old press in front so as to conceal the door.

c. to the front (of): to a position in front (of).

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > direction > specific directions > [phrase] > to the front

to the front (of)1820

1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions I. 235 Being removed to the front of a brisk fire, a strong ebullition commenced.

1887 C. Bowen tr. Virgil Æneid v, in tr. Virgil in Eng. Verse 228 Far to the front shoots Gyas.. Gliding ahead on the water.

d. to come to the front: to become conspicuous, be revealed, emerge into publicity; to make oneself or itself manifest. So (to be) to the front = ‘to the fore’ (rare).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > source or principle of life > continuance or tenacity of life > continue in life [verb (intransitive)]

nesteOE

to live forthOE

overliveOE

lastc1225

livec1410

survive1473

supervive1532

subsist?1533

skill1537

to live on1590

outlive1594

(to be) to the front1871

society > communication > manifestation > disclosure or revelation > disclose or make revelations [verb (intransitive)] > be disclosed or revealed

to come to (also in, on) (the) lightOE

sutelea1000

kitheOE

unfoldc1350

disclosea1513

burst1542

to break up1584

to take vent1611

vent1622

bleed1645

emerge1664

to get (also have) vent1668

to get or take wind1668

to stand (appear) confessed1708

eclat1736

perspire1748

transpire1748

to come out1751

develop1805

unroll1807

spunk1808

effloresce1834

to come to the front1871

to show up1879

out1894

evolve1920

to come or crawl out of the woodwork1964

1871 Archæol. Assoc. Jrnl. Sept. 323 Another saint came to the front.

1876 G. O. Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay II. ix. 132 When subjects came to the front on which his knowledge was great.

1878 Scribner's Monthly 16 184/2 At such a time his true boastful self would come to the front.

1885 E. Lynn Linton Autobiogr. Christopher Kirkland III. vi. 231 Underneath in the hidden depths lurked other matters than those which came to the front.

1886 Daily News 6 Jan. 5/1 The year has gone, however, and the aged Emperor is still to the front.

11. elliptical (quasi-adj. or adv.)

a. spec. = front-pipe n. at Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > pipe > front-pipe(s)

front-pipe1855

front1879

speaking front1881

?1677 S. Primatt City & Covntry Purchaser & Builder 36 Suppose that same be 25 foot Front, and forty foot deep, it may be let for to be built, for forty shillings the foot Front.

c1680 E. Hickeringill Wks. (1716) II. 512 The Enemy..had beset them Front and Rear.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 8 The biggest of them [buildings] had not four yards Front.

1845 Florist's Jrnl. 6 25 A little shed, open back and front.

1879 Organ Voicing 12 Zinc is frequently used for basses and ‘fronts’.

1892 I. Zangwill Big Bow Myst. 127 It's the key of my first-floor front.

b. front of: in front of. U.S.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > front > in front of [preposition]

toforea900

aforeeOE

atforec1000

forneOE

beforeOE

forne toc1175

afornonc1275

forne an, atc1275

forouthc1375

aforewardc1380

before the face ofa1382

forwitha1400

forne inc1540

afront1558

ahead1578

in (the) front of1609

in advance1656

forward of1838

front of1843

1843 ‘R. Carlton’ New Purchase I. xv. 110 Front of the fire-place was the parlour.

1871 H. B. Stowe Oldtown Fireside Stories 45 Wall, she was a standin' front o' this.

1896 S. O. Jewett Country of Pointed Firs 107 He used to..throw a little bundle 'way up the green slope front o' the house.

c. As a command: to the front, forward.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > forward movement > [noun] > as a command

front1907

1907 N.Y. Evening Post (Semi-weekly ed.) 13 May 6 The register clerk [at a Shanghai hotel] assigns you to a room, and instead of ‘Front!’ he shouts ‘Boy!’

†12. [from the verb.] Encounter, onset; = affront n. 1. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > attack > [noun]

fiend-reseOE

frumresec1275

assault1297

sault1297

inracea1300

sailing13..

venuea1330

checkc1330

braid1340

affrayc1380

outrunningc1384

resinga1387

wara1387

riota1393

assailc1400

assayc1400

onset1423

rake?a1425

pursuitc1425

assemblinga1450

brunta1450

oncominga1450

assembly1487

envaya1500

oncomea1500

shovea1500

front1523

scry1523

attemptate1524

assaulting1548

push1565

brash1573

attempt1584

affront?1587

pulse1587

affret1590

saliaunce1590

invasion1591

assailment1592

insultation1596

aggressa1611

onslaught1613

source1616

confronta1626

impulsion1631

tentative1632

essaya1641

infall1645

attack1655

stroke1698

insult1710

coup de main1759

onfall1837

hurrah1841

beat-up of quarters1870

offensive1887

strafe1915

grand slam1916

hop-over1918

run1941

strike1942

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccccxxxii. 760 The men of armes..at the first front ouerthrue many.

Compounds

C1. attributive.

a. = Of or pertaining to the front, situated in front. (The combination of adjective + noun is itself often used attributively.) Frequently in various more or less technical uses.

ΚΠ

1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxxvii. 957 They had raunged their ships broad in a front-ranke.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 145. ⁋ 2 She in a Front Box, he in the Pit next the Stage.

1710 Brit. Apollo 27–29 Nov. The Front side of a good House, is to be Lett.

1718 Free-thinker No. 57. 1 I shall be next Saturday at the Play in a Front Row.

1770 G. White Let. Mar. in Nat. Hist. Selborne (1789) 80 The horn of a male moose, which had no front-antlers.

1832 Proposed Regulations Cavalry ii. 33 The leading front-rank man advances two horses' lengths.

1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. ii. iii. 147 The front entrance is kept locked up.

1843 C. Scudamore Med. Visit Gräfenberg 2 The small-pox, and the loss of some front teeth from an accident, impair his good looks.

1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. II. 467 A front and side elevation of the Elizabethan pianoforte.

1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. x. 275 A straight pinnacle of ice, the front edge of which was perfectly vertical.

1883 Expositor 6 434 He [St. Peter] was naturally quick, mobile, a front~man.

1884 Instr. Mil. Engin. (ed. 3) I. ii. 43 The front ditch party are extended at 5 feet apart.

1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 267/2 It ruins the tyres, and, if applied to the front wheel, puts a great strain on the front forks.

1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 493/1 It often happens in heavy shooting that the recoil of the second barrel causes the front trigger to cut the first joint of the fore-finger.

1902 Captain 7 474 Crabb front rim brake.

1907 Daily Chron. 11 Nov. 7/4 The front axle being..used for both steering and driving alike.

1908 Westm. Gaz. 18 Jan. 7/2 Front-pressure over the area of a railway carriage must be from 25lb. to 35lb. per sq. foot before the stability of the train is imperilled.

1908 Daily Chron. 3 July 6/4 This front~cover picture.

1925 Morris Man. 68 When the front axle is off the ground, the pedal should be depressed.

1967 Gloss. Mining Terms (B.S.I.) xi. 8 Front abutment pressure.

b. Phonetics. Applied to sounds in the formation of which the fore-part of the tongue touches or is raised towards the hard palate.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by place or organ > [adjective] > lingual > by position of tongue

fronted1615

back1867

front1867

inner1867

outer1867

1867 A. M. Bell Visible Speech: Sci. Universal Alphabetics 52 Front. The Front of the Tongue contracting the oral passage between it and the roof of the mouth.

1867 A. M. Bell Visible Speech: Sci. Universal Alphabetics 52 Front-Mixed. The Front and the Point of the Tongue both raised.

1867 A. M. Bell Visible Speech: Sci. Universal Alphabetics 58 The ‘Front-divided’ Consonant has its side apertures within the palatal arch.

1888 H. Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds (new ed.) 2 Front vowels are rounded by the lips only.

1918 D. Jones Outl. Eng. Phonetics ix. 45 In clear varieties of l the front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate, while in dark varieties of l the back of the tongue is raised in the direction of the soft palate. In other words, clear l-sounds have the resonance of front vowels, whereas dark l-sounds have the resonance of back vowels.

1962 A. C. Gimson Introd. Pronunc. Eng. v. 47 The so-called ‘clear’ [l] with a front vowel resonance.

C2. In special combinations and phrases.

front-action adj. (see quots.).

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > [adjective] > by method of firing

flintless1810

rimfire1867

hammerless1875

front-action1881

flintlocked1885

1881 W. W. Greener Gun & its Devel. 209 Back-action locks..tend to weaken the stock at the grip more than front-action locks.

1907 W. W. Greener Gun & its Devel. (ed. 8) 144 If the mainspring [of the lock]..is placed before the tumbler, it is ‘front action’ or ‘bar’.

front bench n. the foremost bench on either side of the Houses of Lords and Commons, occupied by ministers and ex-ministers respectively.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [noun] > place of > parts of

floor1774

gangway1818

lobby1845

back bench1874

front bench1891

1891 Daily News 28 July 3/4 To have seen the motion carried on the strength of the two Front Bench speeches.

front-bencher n. an occupant of a front bench, a leading member of the Government or Opposition.

ΘΚΠ

burgessc1425

private member1606

recruiter1648

university member1774

unofficial member1822

labour member1871

Labour-Liberal1890

service member1890

front-bencher1907

back-bencher1910

shire-member1910

1907 Westm. Gaz. 31 Aug. 1/3 Each Unionist Front-Bencher will have to do a double or treble turn.

1919 G. B. Shaw Heartbreak House Pref. in Heartbreak House, Great Catherine, & Playlets of War p. ix Where were our front benchers to nest if not here?

1968 Listener 30 May 694/3 Would you say that to be in opposition as a backbencher, or indeed even as a frontbencher, is virtually a role of impotence?

front brake n. = front-wheel brake

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > devices to retard or stop motion > brake or braking apparatus > on front wheel

front brake1925

1925 Morris Man. 68 From the points near the ends of the front number plate to the front brake assemblies.

1959 Motor Man. (ed. 36) v. 137 (caption) Details of a Lockheed hydraulic two-leading-shoe front brake.

front brick n. brick for the front of a building.

ΚΠ

1868 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1865–6 6 39 Best Brick Machine for making fine Front Brick.

front burner n. a boiling ring or plate at the front of a cooking stove; frequently used figuratively in colloquial phrase on the front burner (originally U.S.): of an issue, etc., in the state of being urgently considered; in the forefront of attention; of a plan, that receives priority; cf. to cook on the front burner at cook v.¹ Phrases 3; opposed to back burner n. at back- comb. form 2.

ΚΠ

1945 L. Shelly Hepcats Jive Talk Dict. 23/1 Cooking on the front burner, tops.

1970 Times 26 Sept. 7/2 The whole issue is now on the front burner with the flame turned up high.

1978 Guardian Weekly 4 June 16/4 Meany's agreement..that inflation has indeed superseded employment as the key problem..was remarkable for the most influential man on the labor scene, who for obvious reasons normally keeps the jobs picture on the front burner.

front cloth n. Theatre a painted cloth before which a scene is played while the stage is set for another scene behind it.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > scenery > cloth > types of

sky-border1744

skydrop1854

skycloth1871

sea-cloth1883

cut cloth1884

front cloth1884

backcloth1886

backdrop1913

cyclorama1915

teaser1916

scrim1930

cut drop1961

1884 J. Hatton H. Irving's Impress. Amer. II. xi. 268 Every scene is a set, except two, and they are front cloths.

1896 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 1 Feb. 123/2 Long enough to allow the carpenters time to set the most elaborate water-scene behind the front cloth.

1958 B. Nichols Sweet & Twenties 141 Those most precious of all items to the revue writer, the ‘front-cloth numbers’, which can be played without props or scenery.

front-driven adj. designating a motor car in which the power is transmitted to the front wheels.

ΚΠ

1907 Daily Chron. 11 Nov. 7/4 The front-driven vehicle is much less liable to sideslip than when the front wheels are merely pushed forward from the rear.

front driver n. (see driver n. 13b).

front-fastening adj. that fastens in front.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > fastened in specific way > other

well-laced?1590

frogged1774

tight-laced1861

front-fastening1871

fly-fronted1901

zip-up1927

1871 Figure Training 88 A front-fastening corset.

front flight n. = first flight (see flight n.¹ 8d); also attributive.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > going first or in front > [adjective]

foregoing1530

headmost1592

beginning1609

first1647

previous1658

forehand1664

leading1771

lead1846

vanmost1865

front flight1899

1899 Westm. Gaz. 1 Dec. 4/2 The field gradually tailed off and only the front-flight men were able to keep on terms.

1902 Daily Chron. 5 Dec. 3/4 A department of the chase upon which front-flight men of the shires may be inclined to look down.

front foot n. a linear foot along the front of a plot of ground (cf. foot front at sense 11a).

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > [noun] > site of or for (a) building(s) > measure of front of

front foot1812

1812 Deb. Congr. U.S. 4 May (1853) 2288 [The city of Washington] shall have power to cause [street improvements] to be done at any expense not exceeding two dollars and fifty cents per front foot.

1865 Harper's Mag. Aug. 319/1 Men bought town lots for $400 a front foot.

1925 B. Snyder Real Estate Handbk. 341 The land value map is designed to show the value of the land per front foot.

1925 B. Snyder Real Estate Handbk. 341 These front-foot values are called unit values.

front-handed adj. done with a forward movement of the hand.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > bodily movement > [adjective] > done by specific movement of part

overhand1656

front-handed1843

wristy1867

straight-arm1946

1843 Peter Parley's Ann. 74 He..made a quick front-handed plunge in the direction from which the attack came.

front-loader n. a machine, esp. a washing-machine, designed to be loaded from the front, as distinct from one loaded from the top, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > [noun] > washing-machine > type of

Laundromat1943

front-loader1960

washer-dryer1968

1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 12 Jan. 84 (advt.) Independent operation of front-loaders, dozers, etc.

1970 Guardian 17 Nov. 9/2 The best laundromat machines..are the front-loaders.

front-loading adj.

ΚΠ

1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 8 Mar. 25/1 Taper ditching bucket and..hydraulic front-loading shovel.

1984 Which? Aug. 384/2 For front-loading automatics, eczema sufferers may find ordinary automatic washing powders less of a problem than biological ones.

front-load v. [as a back formation] (transitive) (a) U.S. to concentrate a load at the front of (a vehicle); (in quots. figurative); (b) to load (a washing-machine, etc.) from the front; also transferred.

ΚΠ

1977 New Yorker 26 Sept. 85/1 I decided to frontload the court system instead of backloading it as before, by settling minor cases at the time of arraignment, the first step in the court process.

1984 Listener 15 Mar. 5/1 He was planning to ‘front-load’ his campaign with successes in Iowa, New Hampshire and on ‘Super Tuesday’.

front man n. spec. (originally U.S.) (a) see sense 7g; (b) the leader of a band; (c) one who represents an organization, etc., publicly; spec. a television presenter.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > conductor or leader > [noun] > leader of band

ductor15..

leader1530

drum major1689

choragus1727

band-leader1894

front man1937

name bandleader1958

1937 Amer. Speech 12 46/1 Front man, the leader of the band.

1946 R. Blesh Shining Trumpets (1949) xii. 279 To hire New Orleans players and then leave them free to play jazz, never occurred to the natty swing ‘front men’.

1959 ‘F. Newton’ Jazz Scene xi. 186 A good and permanent band is normally run by a martinet, or a ‘natural’ front man with an eye to the public.

1977 TV Times (Brisbane) 3 Sept. 18/2 Its producers faced another crisis. They met this..by casting about for another compere... They imported another frontman, David Frost, albeit briefly.

1985 Washington Post 25 Oct. c3/1 I hate to sound like a front man for the Network of Bill Cosby.

front matter n. Printing (originally U.S.) all matter (title page, preface, table of contents, etc.) in a book that precedes the text; the prelims.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > book > matter of book > [noun] > matter preceding text

front matter1909

1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. Front matter.

1920 Publishers' Weekly 4 Oct. 1660/2 We have cast-off your manuscript and estimate it will make 8 pages of front-matter and 248 pages of text.

1966 H. Williamson Methods Bk. Design (ed. 2) xii. 176 American designers sometimes use the terms ‘front matter’ and ‘end matter’.

front money n. originally U.S. money paid in advance or at the beginning of a business transaction, esp. to secure additional finance or co-operation; cf. upfront adv. and adj.

ΚΠ

1931 W. L. Stoddard Financial Racketeering i. 4 Front Money, money advanced to a salesman before commissions are earned. Money paid by companies for the purpose of securing finances, such money being paid to so-called ‘financial engineers’ on their promise to secure finances, which promises are seldom carried out.

1964 Times Rev. Industry & Technol. Feb. 11/1 His [sc. a film distributor's] guarantee is the necessary security on which the producer can borrow money from a bank. The amount borrowed constitutes what is known as front money and has absolute priority of repayment.

1977 H. Fast Immigrants v. 307 It's an investment. We call it front money, seed money. When the studio picks up, the money is repaid.

front name n. U.S. (jocular or vulgar) a Christian name.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > naming > name or appellation > [noun] > first name

first namea1325

forename1534

praenomen1603

pre-name1728

front name1877

1877 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 4) Front name, Christian name. ‘The familiar manner in which the telegraph handles my front name’, i.e. in calling him Ben.

1895 Pall Mall Mag. Mar. 511 ‘What's your front name?’ asked Roy boldly.

front office n. originally U.S. a main or head office; spec. police headquarters.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police office or station

police office1781

station1814

police station1820

factory1890

front office1900

cop-shop1941

law station1958

bear den1975

1900 ‘J. Flynt’ Notes Itinerant Policeman 73 The capture dwindles down to a request on the part of the chief or his officer that the man shall go to the ‘front office’.

1935 P. G. Wodehouse Blandings Castle xii. 302 The Front Office has just sent out a communication to all writers.

1966 Punch 1 June 818/1 This is the sort of thing that can happen when the ‘front office’ is dubious about a film's popular appeal.

front page n. the front outside page of a newspaper; often attributive to indicate an important or striking piece of news; so front-page v. trans. (originally and chiefly U.S.), to feature on the front page.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > journalism > journal > parts and layout of journals > [verb (transitive)] > feature on front page

front page1902

society > communication > journalism > journal > parts and layout of journals > [noun] > page of newspaper > front page

front page1902

1902 Out West Jan. 39 Bearing on its front page a picture of the murderer, and the ‘story’.

1917 Writer's Bull. Mar. 56/2 He pounds the typewriter keys And in the distance clearly sees A front page story and a raise.

1917 P. G. Wodehouse Uneasy Money xii. 134 ‘Why, we may all be murdered in our beds!’ he cried. ‘Front page stuff!’ said Roscoe Sherriff, with gleaming eyes.

1929 Times 4 Feb. 13/5 The recent serious illness of the King has been ‘front page news’ from the beginning.

1929 M. Lief Hangover 54 Most of these society dames front-paged their fed-uppance with tea-fights and garden soirées.

1957 N.Z. News 17 Dec. 2/1 The New York Times front-paged Labour's victory.

1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 4 July 377/3 It is most gratifying to see a front-page article..devoted to an intelligent and knowledgeable discussion of contemporary Russian poets.

1970 Daily Tel. 1 Jan. 5/8 Mr Barber is too good a journalist not to give the whole story breathless front-page excitement.

front-pager n. one who is worthy of being featured on the front page; a celebrity.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > fame or renown > famous or eminent person > [noun]

kingeOE

master-spiritc1175

douzepersc1330

sire1362

worthya1375

lantern1382

sira1400

greatc1400

noblec1400

persona1425

lightc1425

magnate?a1439

worthyman1439

personagec1460

giant1535

honourablec1540

triedc1540

magnifico1573

ornament1573

signor1583

hero1592

grandee1604

prominent1608

name1611

magnificent1612

choice spirita1616

illustricity1637

luminary1692

lion1715

swell1786

notable1796

top-sawyer1826

star1829

celebrity1831

notability1832

notoriety1841

mighty1853

tycoon1861

reputation1870

public figure1871

star turn1885

headliner1896

front-pager1899

legend1899

celeb1907

big name1909

big-timer1917

Hall of Famer1948

megastar1969

1899 Daily News 28 Feb. 4/7 A dazzling array of eminent ‘front-pagers’.

1934 A. Huxley Beyond Mexique Bay 3 The gay and charming front-pagers who go on winter cruises are, in the main, elderly people.

front-piece n. Theatre a small play acted in front of the curtain.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > other types of play

king play1469

king game1504

historya1509

chronicle history1600

monology1608

horseplaya1627

piscatory1631

stock play1708

petite pièce1712

mimic1724

ballad opera1730

ballad farce1735

benefit-play1740

potboiler1783

monodrama1793

extravaganza1797

theo-drama1801

monodrame1803

proverb1803

stock piece1804

bespeak1807

ticket-night1812

dramaticle1813

monopolylogue1819

pièce d'occasion1830

interlude1831

mimea1834

costume piece1834

mummers' play1849

history play1850

gag-piece1860

music drama1874

well-made1881

playlet1884

two-decker1884

slum1885

kinderspiel1886

thrill1886

knockabout1887

two-hander1888

front-piece1889

thriller1889

shadow-play1890

mime play1894

problem play1894

one-acter1895

sex play1899

chronicle drama1902

thesis-play1902

star vehicle1904

folk-play1905

radio play1908

tab1915

spy play1919

one-act1920

pièce à thèse1923

dance-drama1924

a mess of plottage1926

turkey1927

weepie1928

musical1930

cliffhanger1931

mime drama1931

triangle drama1931

weeper1934

spine-chiller1940

starrer1941

scorcher1942

teleplay1947

straw-hatter1949

pièce noire1951

pièce rose1951

tab show1951

conversation piece1952

psychodrama1956

whydunit1968

mystery play1975

State of the Nation1980

1889 Evening News in A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang (at cited word) At the Gaiety..a farce, ‘Lot 49’, by Mr. Fisher, as a front piece to ‘Frankenstein’.

1907 Daily Chron. 9 Nov. 4/4 Thirty-four full-length plays and seven front-pieces.

front-pipe n. each of the row of pipes which form the front of an organ, often gilded or otherwise decorated.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > pipe > front-pipe(s)

front-pipe1855

front1879

speaking front1881

1855 E. J. Hopkins Organ 73 Tin does not soon become tarnished; hence its peculiar appropriateness for ungilded ‘front pipes’.

1905 T. Elliston Organs & Tuning 393 The front pipes to be of stout V.M. zinc silvered with aluminium leaf.

1954 Grove's Dict. Music (ed. 5) VI. 290/2 The front pipes were made of tin, those inside of lead.

front rank n. the first or foremost rank; also attributive.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > [noun] > preceding in order > first of a series

foremosta1250

summity1624

protoplast1645

front rank1872

lead-off1886

1872 G. Meredith Let. 15 Nov. (1970) I. 472 The suspicion that Burton did not do what he said is unworthy, considering the things he has undoubtedly accomplished, and which place him in the front rank of adventurous travellers.

1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 104. 579 This rifle..stands in the ‘front rank’ with the very best target rifles of this and other countries.

1899 Westm. Gaz. 10 Mar. 4/3 Mr. Fox, another front-rank costumier.

1935 Discovery Nov. 321 British manufacturers are in the front rank in this branch of scientific industry.

front-ranker n. a person (ship, etc.) of the highest class or of leading position.

ΚΠ

1905 Westm. Gaz. 25 Mar. 15/1 The eagerness which was displayed by some ‘front-rankers’ to get a ‘line’ of the Ceylon Pearl Syndicate's underwriting.

1914 in E. C. Barnes Alfred Yarrow (1923) xxvii. 260 The Firedrake and Lurcher were looked upon as two front-rankers.

1928 Manch. Guardian Weekly 7 Dec. Suppl. p. vi/1 It is a long time since a year's verse list was led by so many front rankers.

1963 Times 9 Feb. 10/5 London's light operatic conductors, at a time when Ivan Caryll, Herman Finck, Jimmy Glover, and Alfred Dove were front-rankers.

front room n. a room situated at the front of a house, esp. a sitting-room; spec. one kept as the best room in the house.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > room by type of use > [noun] > best room

chamber1644

front room1679

best room1719

fore-room1728

spence1786

parlour1825

speak-a-word room1825

1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vii. 133 If your Shop stand in an eminent Street, the Front Rooms are commonly more Airy than the Back Rooms.

1827 A. N. Royall Tennessean ii. 12 What were you doing in this front room? I was sweeping it.

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses iii. xvii. [Ithaca] 658 He..reascended the stairs, reapproached the door of the front room, hallfloor, and reentered.

1976 T. Sharpe Wilt ii. 11 She got the washing-up done and the front room vacuumed.

1986 N.Y. Times 23 Feb. i. 18/4 Mr. Tutuola sits in the front room of his apartment, tugging constantly on his metal-stemmed pipe.

front-runner n. originally U.S. ‘(i) a contestant who runs best when in the lead; also, one who can set his own fast pace; (ii) the leading contestant in a competition’ (Webster 1961).

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > dissent > competition or rivalry > [noun] > competitor or rival > one who takes part in a competition > specific types of competitor

dark horse1832

probable1868

novice1897

front-runner1914

1914 Automobile 27 Aug. 390/2 Always a front-runner, he soon opened a gap on the field which looked to be a safe one.

1952 Birmingham (Alabama) News 5 May 12/1 Not a front runner, he is a dark horse who might come in first should Taft and Eisenhower cancel each other out.

1960 Times 29 June 17/7 There can be no doubt that the emergence of a few brave front-runners has lifted the middle distance running out of the doldrums.

1970 W. Smith Gold Mine vii. 18 He had joined C.R.C. a mere twelve years previously..and now he was the front runner.

front-running adj.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > dissent > competition or rivalry > [adjective] > type of competitor

front-running1940

the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > [adjective] > winning > in winning position

front-running1940

1940 Time 4 Nov. 71 He has won most of his subsequent newspaper clippings by front-running for the U.S.'s No. 1 anti-Wall Street financier.

1951 Life 1 Oct. 32/1 Taft is the strongest single Republican and the front-running candidate for the '52 nomination.

front-run v. [as a back formation] (intransitive) .

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > dissent > competition or rivalry > compete or rival [verb (intransitive)] > be a leading competitor

front-run1950

the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)] > win > be in winning position

front-run1950

1950 N.Y. Times 11 June 53/2 Wade beat Pearman by nine yards in the 880 with a front-running race.

1958 Times 24 Oct. 17/6 Eldon tried to front-run without the necessary strength and experience.

front-stall n. an appendage to the bridle covering the horse's forehead.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > halter or bridle > parts of

headstallc1330

trench1480

stalk1497

musrol1551

head-strain?1561

water-chain?1561

throat band1585

cavesson1598

mullen1598

nose bit?a1600

front-stall1601

ampyx1607

chain1607

fillet1607

cheek-band1611

cheekpiece1611

noseband1611

throat thong1611

headpiece1678

throatlatch1693

headband1704

trenchefil1730

bridoon1744

banquet1753

head1756

cheek1795

throat strap1803

frontlet1805

throat-lash1805

cheekstrap1834

brow-band1844

nosepiece1865

shank1879

society > armed hostility > military equipment > armour > armour for horse > [noun] > for head

testerc1386

cheveronnec1420

chamfron1465

shaffron1465

headpiece1530

chaffron1547

frontal1587

chieffront1598

frontlet1805

front-stall1825

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 631 The KK. of the East had their horses set out therewith [cochlides]..in their frontstals.

1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 2nd Bk. Wks. xii. 83 A barbed horse furnished with a frontstal.

1825 W. Scott Talisman i, in Tales Crusaders III. 8 The front-stall of the bridle was a steel plate, with apertures for the eyes and nostrils.

† front-tickled adj. Obsolete ? flattered.Apparently an isolated use.

ΚΠ

a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry V ciii, in Poems (1878) IV. 126 But faire pretence leads on; and the Dull Heard Front-tickled, yeild themselves into his hand.

front trench n. Military the trench or trenches forming the front line in trench warfare.Usually with reference to the First World War (1914–18).

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > earthwork or rampart > [noun] > trench > types of trench

transverse1704

front trench1847

communicating trench1857

shelter-trench1870

firing bay1885

communication trench1903

fire trench1907

funk-hole1914

support trench1914

foxhole1915

fire bay1916

slit-trench1942

1847 Colburn's United Service Mag. Apr. 603 The fusileers advance into the front trenches, and suddenly darting up,..fire one volley.

1915 D. Haig Diary 9 May in War Diaries & Lett. 1914–18 (2005) 122 The assault by the 1st Division was well carried out. Men advanced with great dash and apparently in some places got into the Enemy's front trenches.

1916 ‘B. Cable’ Action Front 143 The stretcher-bearers carried their burden into the front trench.

1944 D. S. Freeman Lee's Lieutenants III. vii. 135 Steuart's men still were holding a section of the front trenches of the enemy.

1995 M. Samuels Command or Control? vi. 162 With the opposing trench lines little more than 100 metres apart, it was not possible to disguise the front trench.

front-ways adv.

ΚΠ

1863 R. H. Gronow Reminisc. II. 46 The cocked hat he always wore, placed frontways on his head, like that of the Emperor Napoleon.

front wheel n. the foremost or either of the foremost wheels upon which a vehicle runs; also attributive, as front-wheel brake, front-wheel drive.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > wheel > of specific type or position

cartwheelc1386

truckle1459

trundle1564

clog-wheel1575

trindle1594

coach-wheel1647

roulette1659

roller1763

horizontal wheel1794

castora1800

castor-wheel1805

artillery wheel1834

training wheel1848

trailing wheel1850

spider-wheel1868

front wheel1878

trailer1884

trendle1887

wire wheel1907

square wheels1924

jockey-wheel1952

1878 Design & Work 4 218/1 52 in. Wolverhampton..with lamp and pouch, front wheel brake.

1897¹Front wheel [see Compounds 1a].

1900 Captain 3 463/2 Gamage's Holborn front wheel rim brake.

1902 W. W. Beaumont in A. C. Harmsworth et al. Motors & Motor-driving (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) x. 218 The automobilist should frequently jack up the front of his car so that the front wheels are free of the ground.

1904 G. F. Goodchild & C. F. Tweney Technol. & Sci. Dict. 147/2 The front wheel brake usually carries two blocks on a horseshoe-shaped clip.

1908 Westm. Gaz. 3 Nov. 4/1 The Allen-Liversidge system of front-wheel braking.

1928 Daily Mail 13 Aug. 12/6 Will the new principle of front wheel drive prove a success?

1968 N. Fleming Counter Paradise iii. 42 ‘Great heap,’ Jake grinned... ‘Yes..and it's got front-wheel drive.’

1971 Guardian 18 Feb. 2/6 The Renault 17..is a front-wheel drive model.

front-wise adv. in a position or direction facing to the front.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > front > [adverb]

aforeOE

forneOE

beforeOE

aforewarda1200

afornonc1275

toforec1330

onwardc1385

bifornysc1420

forouth1487

ahead1568

afrontc1570

forwardly1578

anteriorly1598

foremostly1607

devant1609

forward1619

forward on1630

front-wise1774

vanward1827

out front1934

upfront1937

the world > space > direction > specific directions > [adverb] > in forward direction

beforeOE

forwarda1535

ahead1596

front-wise1774

vanward1827

frontward1865

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VII. 216 It [sc. Venomous Serpent] has..a mark of dark brown on the forehead; which, when viewed frontwise, looks like a pair of spectacles.

1885 J. H. Middleton in Encycl. Brit. XIX. 612/1 Though the faces are nearly always represented in profile, the eyes are shown frontwise.

Draft additions March 2006

front bottom n. British colloquial (euphemistic, esp. in speech to or by children) the female external genitals, the vulva; cf. front bum n. at Additions.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun]

cuntc1230

quivera1382

chosec1386

privy chosea1387

quoniamc1405

naturec1470

shell1497

box1541

water gate1541

mouth1568

quiver case1568

water gap1586

cunnya1593

medlar1597

mark1598

buggle-boo1600

malkin1602

lap1607

skin coat1611

quim1613

nest1614

watermilla1626

bum1655

merkin1656

twat1656

notch1659

commodity1660

modicum1660

crinkum-crankum1670

honeypot1673

honour1688

muff1699

pussy1699

puss1707

fud1771

jock1790

cock?1833

fanny?1835

vaginac1890

rug1893

money-maker1896

Berkeley1899

Berkeley Hunt1899

twitchet1899

mingea1903

snatch1904

beaver1927

coozie1934

Sir Berkeley1937

pocketbook1942

pranny1949

zatch1950

cooch1955

bearded clam1962

noonie1966

chuff1967

coozea1968

carpet1981

pum-pum1983

front bum1985

coochie1986

punani1987

front bottom1991

va-jay-jay2000

the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > vulva

vulva?a1425

wombgatec1450

nock1611

nonny-nonny1611

slit1648

old hat1697

concha1855

monkey1863

gash1873

slot1942

vag1967

mickey1969

front bum1985

punani1987

front bottom1991

1991 More Things to do with Flies in talk.politics.mideast (Usenet newsgroup) 25 Jan. Then I could put my baby-making-part into your front-bottom.

2000 R. Topping Kevin & Perry go Large i. 2 Tis such a waste of my lovely woman's body. I've got years of shagging left in me. Why chop off my head when thou could lift up my dress and look at my front bottom?

Draft additions March 2006

front bum n. colloquial (euphemistic) = front bottom n. at Additions.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun]

cuntc1230

quivera1382

chosec1386

privy chosea1387

quoniamc1405

naturec1470

shell1497

box1541

water gate1541

mouth1568

quiver case1568

water gap1586

cunnya1593

medlar1597

mark1598

buggle-boo1600

malkin1602

lap1607

skin coat1611

quim1613

nest1614

watermilla1626

bum1655

merkin1656

twat1656

notch1659

commodity1660

modicum1660

crinkum-crankum1670

honeypot1673

honour1688

muff1699

pussy1699

puss1707

fud1771

jock1790

cock?1833

fanny?1835

vaginac1890

rug1893

money-maker1896

Berkeley1899

Berkeley Hunt1899

twitchet1899

mingea1903

snatch1904

beaver1927

coozie1934

Sir Berkeley1937

pocketbook1942

pranny1949

zatch1950

cooch1955

bearded clam1962

noonie1966

chuff1967

coozea1968

carpet1981

pum-pum1983

front bum1985

coochie1986

punani1987

front bottom1991

va-jay-jay2000

the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > vulva

vulva?a1425

wombgatec1450

nock1611

nonny-nonny1611

slit1648

old hat1697

concha1855

monkey1863

gash1873

slot1942

vag1967

mickey1969

front bum1985

punani1987

front bottom1991

1985 B. McConville & J. Shearlaw Slanguage of Sex 111/1 Front bum, the vagina. Male Irish usage. Intended as jokey and innocuous, but somewhat disturbing in its denial of the nature—and even the existence—of the female part.

1999 Pi Mag. (Univ. Coll. London Union) Feb. 17/2 It's a great shame Chicks were still having their nappies changed when L7 were causing riots flashing their—erm–‘front bums’ on The Word.

Draft additions March 2009

front crawl n. Swimming = crawl n.¹ c.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > movement in or on water > [noun] > swimming > stroke > specific

hand over hand1844

sidestroke1852

breast swimming1861

steamer1861

breaststroke1864

dog paddle1874

backstroke1876

trudgen1893

frog kick1896

overstroke1902

scissors kick1902

crawl1903

scissors1908

freestyle1916

doggy paddle1921

front crawl1924

back-crawl1929

butterfly stroke1934

butterfly1936

butterfly kick1937

1924 G. H. Corsan Diving & Swimming Bk. p. xv Head-on view of the front crawl.

2008 Gloucestershire Echo (Nexis) 29 Sept. 9 Six years ago Margaret didn't know how to do a front crawl, but her determination to get fit saw her turn to swimming.

Draft additions June 2015

front nine n. Golf the first nine holes on an eighteen-hole course; the first half of an eighteen-hole round.

ΚΠ

1923 Republican-Courier (Findlay, Ohio) 1 Sept. b2/2 Green..played the front-nine in six-under-par 29 but cooled off with a 34 coming home.

1977 Times 18 June (Sports section) 6/8 John Miller..picked up two shots on the front nine.

2006 Today's Golfer May 164/1 Our bedraggled fourball battled through lashing rain on the front nine and a gale on the back nine.

Draft additions September 2018

front projection n. Cinematography projection from the viewer's side of the screen; (also) a special effects technique in which background footage is projected via a two-way mirror between the camera and the actors onto a screen behind them; frequently in contrast to back projection n. at back- comb. form 2; see also rear projection n. at rear adj.² and n.² Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > projection > [noun]

projection1687

screen image1876

show1897

front projection1910

rear projection1913

back projection1933

projecting1959

1910 Moving Picture World 17 Sept. 634/1 No difference in the lenses for front or back projection.

1951 Sponsor 24 Sept. 64/2 New technical devices, such as improved versions of rear-projection screens, front-projection, and other optical devices to do away with expensive scenery are coming into their own.

2001 Total DVD Feb. 114/2 Matte painting, front projection and rotoscoping were used to put people into unreal environments.

2005 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 12 Nov. 45 Kate recognised a gap in the market for a profitable business specialising in front projection systems for the home cinema market.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

frontv.¹

Brit.

/frʌnt/, U.S.

/frənt/

Etymology: < Old French front-er in same sense, < front front n.; it may however in some uses be an independent formation on the English noun.

a. intransitive. To have the front in a specified direction; to face, look. Const. on, to, towards, upon.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > direction > direct [verb (transitive)] > face a direction

front1523

prospect1555

face1567

behold1593

head1610

frontage1914

the world > space > direction > specific directions > have specific directions [verb (intransitive)] > have front in specific direction

front1523

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. li. 73 The french king..purueyed suffyciently for all the forteresses frontyng on Flanders.

1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iii. 60 Tarent..to which heunlye Lacinia fronteth.

1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 297 A countrey..fronts upon another Nation.

a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) 141 Having a few small Rooms fronting outward.

1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting II. ii. 48 This room was erected..fronting westward to the privy-garden.

1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 40 Philip's dwelling fronted on the street.

1894 H. Caine Manxman iii. 134 The rooms fronted to Athol Street.

†b. transitive. To set the front of (a building) in a specified direction. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > direction > specific directions > direct in specific directions [verb (transitive)] > set front in specific direction

front1665

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > [verb (transitive)] > set front towards

front1665

1665 J. Webb Vindic. Stone-Heng (1725) 105 Temples..should be so fronted, as that Travellers passing by might behold them.

a1817 T. Dwight Trav. New-Eng. & N.-Y. (1821) II. 97 Mr. Geyer has erected a large elegant mansion, fronted towards the river.

2. transitive.

a. To have the front towards; to ‘face’, stand opposite to.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > opposite position > be opposite (something) [verb (transitive)] > face (of things)

face1567

affront1575

frontier1579

regard1585

front1609

confront1610

to stand to ——1632

outfront1883

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. iii. 117 Like a gate of steele: Fronting the Sunne.

1696 tr. J. Dumont New Voy. Levant 2 All the Houses..which fronted the Bishop's Palace.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. v. v. 145 This enclosed Place exactly fronted the Foot of the Bed.

1823 F. Clissold Narr. Ascent Mont Blanc 11 Fronting us, rose the summit of Mont Blanc.

1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 109 The perspective picture which fronts the title-page represents a cotton factory.

b. Of a building: To have its front on the side of (a street, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > [verb (transitive)] > face towards

front1698

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 38 Opposite to this, one [Gate] more stately fronts the High-street.

1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 91 This Alcove fronts the longest Gravel Walk in the Garden.

1833 Act 3 & 4 William IV c. 46 §90 The proprietor or proprietors of any buildings fronting any of the streets.

1847 A. M. Gilliam Trav. Mexico (new ed.) 166 The church..was to have fronted the Plaza.

a. To stand face to face with, meet face to face, look straight at, face, confront; esp. to face in defiance or hostility, present a bold front to, oppose. literal and figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > opposite position > be opposite (something) [verb (transitive)] > be face to face with

confrontc1568

front1582

to face (a person) with1583

face1632

over-front1644

the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > oppose [verb (transitive)] > confront

abidec1275

stand?1316

visagec1386

bidec1400

to stand to ——1562

affront1569

to look (a person, etc.) in the face1573

outface1574

front1582

to meet with1585

confront1594

propose1594

to stand up to1596

outfront1631

to stand forth to1631

head1682

meet1725

1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 32 Of Greeks thee first man with a gallant coompanye garded Fronted vs.

a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 82 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) He dare now front Princes.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) i. iii. 53 Front her, boord her, woe her, assayle her.

a1640 J. Fletcher et al. Queene of Corinth iv. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Cccccc/1 Amaz'd..at your..impudence, That dare thus front us.

1697 J. Dryden Disc. Epick Poetry D 4 When Æneas and Turnus stood fronting each other before the altar.

1701 W. Wotton Hist. Rome iv. 65 Some fell upon the Rear, some fronted them directly.

1837 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 16 Oct. in Amer. Notebks. (1972) iii. 164 Here you fronted the ocean, looking at a sail.

1839 T. Carlyle Chartism x. 98 Evil, once manfully fronted, ceases to be evil.

1852 F. W. Robertson Serm. 3rd Ser. xvii. 222 Soldiers can be hired..to front death in its worst form.

1864 J. F. Kirk Hist. Charles the Bold (U.S. ed.) I. i. 22 The brazen pride with which he fronted accusation and reproach.

b. said of things.

ΚΠ

1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 265 Would God such things..never had fronted our native shores!

a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) ii. ii. 65 Those Warres Which fronted mine owne peace.

1637 T. Heywood Royall King ii. ii. sig. D^v I am arm'd with innocence, And that dares front all danger.

1873 W. Black Princess of Thule i. 14 At length, the boat..fronted the broad waters of the Atlantic.

4. To set face to face with, confront with.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > opposite position > be opposite (something) [verb (transitive)] > place facing

address1483

to face (a person) with1583

front1617

confront1627

the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > oppose [verb (transitive)] > confront > bring face to face with

front1617

confront1627

1617 S. Collins Epphata to F. T. ii. ix. 351 The Cardinall had fronted him with one such false place out of Chrysostome.

1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 87 Which kinde of Persons, are..to be fronted, with some other, of the same Party, that may oppose them.

1853 F. W. Robertson Serm. 3rd Ser. xxi. 275 Fronting his patron and his prince with the stern unpalatable truth of God.

5. To adorn in front; to furnish with a front. (So in combination new-front.) Also, to face (with some specified material); = face v. 8.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautify [verb (transitive)] > ornament > in front

front1635

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > other elements > [verb (transitive)] > furnish with front

front1635

1635 W. Davenant Triumphs Prince d'Amour 3 The Scene was discovered with a Village consisting of Alehouses and Tobacco shops, each fronted with a red Lettice.

1742 W. Cole in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) I. 228 They have..new Fronted the east front.

1772 J. G. W. De Brahm Hist. Georgia (1849) 45 The Savannah Bay is nearly fronted with contiguous Wharfs.

1780 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting (ed. 2) IV. vi. 109 He new fronted his house in Piccadilly.

1782 W. Cowper Let. 6 Sept. (1981) II. 76 My Green house..is fronted with Myrtles and lined with matts.

a1817 T. Dwight Trav. New-Eng. & N.-Y. (1821) II. 31 The Presbyterian church..is fronted with two towers.

1824 Ann. Reg. 87 The whole building was proposed to be fronted with stone.

†6.

a. To introduce (a tale, etc.) with (the mention of or reference to something); to preface. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > speak, say, or utter [verb (transitive)] > introduce > with or by something

front1592

premise1823

society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > parts of a written composition > write parts of composition [verb (transitive)] > introduce or furnish with prologue

prefix1538

front1592

preface1603

preamble1628

perfixa1659

prologue1701

proema1716

prologize1779

premise1823

1592 R. Greene Thirde Pt. Conny-catching sig. B3^v The wily Treacher..coyned such a smooth tale vnto them both, fronting it with the Gammon of Bacon and the Cheese sent from their maides Father.

1599 Master Broughtons Lett. Answered v. 15 You..haue fronted your Libell with this inscription.

1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 109 Hippocrates did wel to front his Axiomaticall Experiments..with the grand Miscariages in the practice of Physitians.

a1732 T. Boston Crook in Lot (1805) 73 Solomon..fronts his writings, in the beginning of the Proverbs, with most express gospel.

b. To place in front as a frontispiece. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > book > leaves or pages of book > [verb (transitive)] > furnish with frontispiece

front1609

frontispiece1715

1609 Bp. W. Barlow Answer Catholike English-man 305 Pindarus would haue in the beginning of a Treatise..some glorious personage fronted.

a. To be or stand in front of, to serve as a front to.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > front > be in front of [verb (transitive)]

forstanda1000

front1591

prologue1762

antecede1822

1591 E. Spenser tr. J. du Bellay Visions in Complaints ii I saw a stately frame..With hundreth pillours fronting faire the same.

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. vii. 102 Yonder walls that pertly front your towne..Must kisse their owne feete.

1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. v. 160 She came to the lawn which fronted the fabric.

1825 M. M. Sherwood Lady of Manor (ed. 2) II. x. 118 A..mansion..fronted by a garden abounding with fruits and flowers.

1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. xvi. 361 The coast..is fronted by many breakers.

1884 Law Times Rep. 51 228/1 The damage done to the sea wall fronting Curry Marsh Farm.

b. To serve as a ‘front’ (see front n. 7g). slang (originally U.S.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > means of concealment > conceal by disguise [verb (transitive)] > something illegal

front1932

1932 J. Sayre Rackety Rax vii. 55 You'll have to front for us, knowin' the collegiate racket and all.

1939 R. Chandler Big Sleep xxvi. 232 Why should I front for that twist?

1939 Nation 5 Aug. 134/2 America, accusing us of ‘fronting’ for the Semites and Communists.

1951 Manch. Guardian Weekly 1 Mar. 3 Mr. Churchill agreed to ‘front’ for the quick pride of the Royal Navy.

1959 ‘M. Ainsworth’ Murder is Catching vii. 90 Was he merely doing his job..? Or was he fronting for Pender?

1971 N. Freeling Over High Side i. 41 To..help him out occasionally I have fronted for him—a telephone call. And I'm bound to say he helped me.

c. To lead (a band). Also intransitive. Originally U.S.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > conducting > conduct [verb (transitive)] > lead band

lead1849

front1936

1936 C. L. Cons Jargon of Jazz in Amer. Mercury May p. x/2 Baton weaver, the joe personality who fronts the band.

1937 Amer. Speech 12 46/2 Ted is fronting for Smith's old band.

1946 P. Fischer in Jazzways 48/2 Hampton was with the Les Hite Orchestra, occasionally ‘fronted’ by Louis Armstrong.

1949 L. Feather Inside Be-bop iii. 26 Coleman Hawkins, who was fronting Clarke's band, copyrighted the tune.

1958 P. Gammond Decca Bk. Jazz x. 128 The remnants of Isham Jones's Orchestra were taken over..by Woody Herman, a clarinet player with a taste for jazz and a talent for fronting a band.

8. Chiefly Military.

†a. intransitive. To march in the front or first rank. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > form or reform [verb (intransitive)] > fall into line > be in front line or rank

front1623

1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII i. ii. 43 I..front but in that File Where others tell steps with me.

b. To turn the front or face in a specified direction; = face v. 13a. Also, as word of command.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military operations > evolution > [verb (intransitive)] > other evolutions

front1635

ploy1836

pivot1841

about-face1863

1635 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Donzella Desterrada 122 Upon this the third fronting to their flanckward spurr'd towards him.

1833 Regulations Instr. Cavalry i. i. 14 Upon the word Front, if he has faced to the right, he fronts to the left.

1847 Infantry Man. (1854) 5 Upon the word Front, if he has faced to the right, he fronts to the left.

c. To form a front or extended line.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > form or reform [verb (intransitive)] > spread out or extend line

deploy1796

front1802

1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. (at cited word) When the battalion is marching by files..the word front is always practised to restore it to its natural situation in line.

1807 Z. M. Pike Acct. Exped. Sources Mississippi (1810) iii. 258 The Spanish troops..were remarkably polite, always fronting and saluting when I passed.

1883 Army Corps Orders in Standard 22 Mar. 3/2 It will halt, front, and march past.

d. to front about: to turn round so as to face in another direction.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > direction > point or lie in a direction [verb (intransitive)] > turn round or to face a direction

turnc1330

convertc1384

to bear one's (also the, a) face (also head)c1400

beturn1594

swerve1607

face1623

orientate1848

to front about1886

orient1896

1886 R. L. Stevenson Strange Case Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde 23 Mr. Hyde..fronted about with an air of defiance.

e. transitive (causatively, from front! as a word of command): To cause to form a front or line.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > [verb (transitive)] > draw up (troops) > in extended formation

display1591

deploy1786

front1796

society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > form (line, column, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > spread out or extend line

deploy1786

front1796

1796 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry 102 He then Halts, fronts! it, and dresses and closes it to its pivot marker on the line.

1832 Proposed Regulations Cavalry ii. 14 In the movement of Threes to a flank, the squadron should occupy but little more ground than when fronted.

1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 25 Each company in succession will be halted, and fronted.

†9. (See quot. 1530) Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 559/1 I fronte up, as a woman dothe the heare of her heed with a fyllet. Je effronte. I wene you be bydden to some bridale to daye, you be so well fronted up.

10. Scottish and dialect. (See quots.)

ΚΠ

1808–18 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. To front, applied to meat, when it swells in boiling.

1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire Front, of tender meat which swells in cooking; of meal which swells under boiling water; of the full feeling supervening after a hearty meal, etc.

11. Phonetics. To pronounce with the tongue in a front position, i.e. touching or raised towards the hard palate; to palatalize. Also intransitive.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by place or organ > [verb (intransitive)] > position of tongue

front1888

the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by place or organ > [verb (transitive)] > lingual > position of tongue

front1888

retract1890

1888 H. Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds (new ed.) 36 The fronting is carried out most fully with the point nasals and stops.

1888 H. Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds (new ed.) 36 These fronted consonants again in their turn influence a preceding sound.

1888 H. Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds (new ed.) 37 [This sound] fronts the preceding ʃ.

1907 H. C. Wyld Hist. Study Mother Tongue viii. 160 A natural inference is that..e being a front vowel, fronted the preceding consonant.

1929 Encycl. Brit. I. 1/2 These [changes] are due to fronting..or to rounding.

1939 Trans. Philol. Soc. 1939 89 In OE, Germ a appears as æ. Some dialects have e, but..the fronting first produced æ.

1964 Language 40 31 Perhaps we can see a reason why /a/ should front.

Draft additions 1993

d. To act as the presenter or host of (a television programme or other broadcast); = compère v.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > broadcasting > broadcaster > [verb (transitive)]

front1978

commentate1979

voice-over1983

1978 Daily Tel. 3 July 2/2 Bruce Forsyth has signed a contract with London Weekend Television to front a series of 12 weekly light entertainment shows.

1982 M. Kington Miles & Miles 132 I'm doing a..13-part TV series... I think I'll get Frank Muir to front it.

1984 National Times (Austral.) 2 Nov. 29/2 He will be fronting the show and performing most of the main roles.

1989 N.Y. Times 1 Jan. ii. 29/4 A vehicle designed for the comedienne Joan Rivers, the program was fronted by a bewildering succession of guest hosts after Ms. Rivers was dropped.

Draft additions March 2009

transitive. colloquial (originally U.S.) To provide (money or goods) in advance, with the expectation of future repayment or advantage. Also with up. Cf. upfront adv. b.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > paying (money) for labour or service > pay (a person) for labour or service [verb (transitive)] > pay in advance > pay (money) in advance

imprest1565

impressa1684

front1966

1966 R. Siragusa Trail of Poppy 21 Remember telling me last year how you fronted five grand for some rubies?

1977 Washington Post 13 Jan. dc3/6 Alan Glen, a financier, ‘fronted’ much of the construction money.

1990 Toronto Star (Nexis) 24 Nov. (Weekend section) g15 It may not matter very much if Sports Illustrated fronts up money for charity to persuade major-league baseball players to allow a journalist to pitch to them and write about the experience.

1997 D. Simon & E. Burns Corner 144 He had fronted Boo forty vials, for which Boo owed him two hundred dollars.

2000 T. Robbins Fierce Invalids 12 Company recruited a very promising young dude down there.., fronted him a new Honda as a signing bonus.

Draft additions September 2021

transitive. Grammar. To place (a word, phrase, etc.) at the beginning of a sentence or clause, often in order to achieve a particular effect; to move (a word, phrase, etc.) to such a position. Cf. fronted adj. Additions, fronting n. Additions.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic relations > have syntactic relation with [verb (transitive)] > transform > specific

rankshift1964

extrapose1965

front1968

1968 R. S. Jackendoff Interpretive Theory Pronouns & Reflexives 13 NP² is fronted on the S¹ cycle by the question transformation.

1992 M. Baker In Other Words v. 134 Fronting the object..foregrounds it and gives it local prominence (cf... A great deal of publicity the book received in China).

2006 E. Kaiser in V. Molnár & S. Winkler Archit. Focus 273 Finnish negation can be fronted to a sentence-initial position from its usual post-subject slot.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online September 2021).

单词	front
释义	frontn.adj. Brit. /frʌnt/, U.S. /frənt/ Forms: Middle English–1600s frount(e, frunt(e, Middle English Scottish froynt(t, Middle English–1500s fronte, Middle English, 1500s frownt, (Middle English frond), Middle English– front. Etymology: < Old French and French front, < Latin front-em, frōns the forehead. I. Forehead, face. 1. a. = forehead n. 1. Now only poetic or in highly rhetorical language. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > forehead > [noun] foreheadc1000 frontc1290 brow1535 frontier1583 frontispiecea1625 forestam1790 c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 169/2176 Bote fram þe riȝt half of is frount. 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 47 A sterre whit Amiddes in her front she [the hors] hadde. ?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 405 Þe calf is rede I undertake, With a white sterne in þe fronte. c1480 (a1400) St. Machor 1547 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 45 Þe takine of þe cors to mak one þar froynttis. 1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. v. 71 Peple ther..haue only but one eye, and that standeth right in the myddys of the fronte or forhede. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. vi. 4 b On theyr heads a Saracoll of Crymson velvet, and before the front the bande, a silver socket set with long feathers. 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. iv. 55 See what a grace was seated on this browe, Hiperions curles, the front of Ioue himselfe. View more context for this quotation 1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 496 The mark of fool set on his front . View more context for this quotation 1735 W. Somervile Chace iii. 513 Soon he rears Erect his tow'ring Front. 1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles vi. xxxvii. 272 And bore he..Such noble front, such waving hair? a1816 R. B. Sheridan School for Scandal (rev. ed.) Portrait in Wks. (1821) II. 3 Ye matron censors..Whose peering eye and wrinkled front declare [etc.]. 1846 E. Bulwer-Lytton Lucretia III. ii. xiv. 38 Her nostrils dilated, and her front rose erect. 1884 W. Allingham Blackberries (1890) 88 Blear eyes, huge ears, and front of ape. b. in figurative phrases, after Shakespeare. ΚΠ a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) i. iii. 80 The very head and front of my offending. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. i. 52 To take the safest occasion by the front . View more context for this quotation 1816 M. Keating Trav. (1817) I. 15 This was the whole front of his offending. 1878 J. Morley Condorcet 37 Placing social aims at the head and front of his life. c. rarely used technically, e.g. in Entomology. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > animal body > general parts > head and neck > [noun] > forehead foreheadc1000 frontlet1659 front1826 the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > parts of insects > [noun] > head > middle part of face or front front1826 1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1828) III. xxxiv. 483 The front of insects may be denominated the middle part of the face between the eyes. 2. By extension: The whole face. Cf. French front. front to front (archaic) = face to face at face n. Phrases 1a. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > [noun] leera700 nebeOE onseneeOE wlitec950 anlethOE nebshaftc1225 snouta1300 facec1300 visage1303 semblantc1315 vicea1325 cheera1350 countenance1393 front1398 fashiona1400 visurec1400 physiognomyc1425 groina1500 faxa1522 favour1525 facies1565 visor1575 complexiona1616 frontispiecea1625 mun1667 phiz1687 mug1708 mazard1725 physiog1791 dial plate1811 fizzog1811 jiba1825 dial1837 figurehead1840 Chevy Chase1859 mooey1859 snoot1861 chivvy1889 clock1899 map1899 mush1902 pan1920 kisser1938 boat1958 boat race1958 punim1965 the world > space > relative position > opposite position > opposite [phrase] > face to face neb to neblOE face to (earlier and, for) face1535 front to fronta1585 on (also upon) the square?1611 nose to nose1732 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) ix. ix. 354 Januarius is paynted wyth two frontes to shewe and to teche the begynnynge and ende of the yere. c1450 Mirour Saluacioun 791 Nor hire nekke nor hire front vsed sho to bere vppright. a1513 W. Dunbar Flyting in Poems (1998) I. 203 Fy, feyndly front far fowlar than ane fen. a1585 P. Hume Flyting with Montgomerie (Tullibardine) ix. 58 in Poems A. Montgomerie (2000) I. 173 Iok Blunt, thrawin frunt. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iv. iii. 234 Front to Front, Bring thou this Fiend of Scotland, and my selfe. View more context for this quotation 1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 82 Brazen Impudence..hath two fronts, its boasting one, and bold one: with the one they look back..the other looketh forward. 1697 T. Creech tr. Manilius Five Bks. i. ix. 14 These stand not front to front, but each doth view The others Tayl, pursu'd as they pursue. 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 292 Antelopes..guarding their Fronts, scampering with their Heads to the Earth, to avoid the..Enemy aloft. 1772 W. Jones Poems 59 Till thrice the sun his rising front has shown. 1802 T. Beddoes Hygëia I. ii. 39 Those..have the courage to treat it, front to front, in a manner corresponding to the enormity of the consequences [etc.]. 1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud xxii. i, in Maud & Other Poems 74 For front to front in an hour we stood. 3. †(a) The face as expressive of emotion or character; expression of countenance. Obsolete. (b) Bearing or demeanour in confronting anything; degree of composure or confidence in the presence of danger, etc. Also outward appearance or aspect; façade; spec. a bluff. Also figurative. Cf. sense 7g. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > [noun] > demeanour or bearing > in confronting anything frontc1374 the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > appearance or aspect > [noun] > facial appearance or expression cheerc1225 lookinga1325 countenancec1330 frontc1374 looka1400 looksc1400 aspect1590 brow1598 cast1653 mien1680 expression1830 the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > appearance or aspect > [noun] > mere appearance shroudc1175 frontc1374 appearancec1384 countenance?c1425 fard1540 show1547 habit1549 outside1578 glimpse1579 superficies?1589 species1598 out-term1602 paint1608 surface1613 superfice1615 umbrage1639 superficials1652 semblance1843 outer womana1845 outward man1846 patina1957 the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > face with expression or expression > [noun] anlethOE cheerc1225 countenancec1330 facec1330 visage1338 frontc1374 vult?a1400 maid facec1450 walte1524 facies1565 museau1816 shade1817 coupon1962 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > [noun] hue971 glozea1300 showingc1300 coloura1325 illusionc1340 frontc1374 simulationc1380 visage1390 cheera1393 sign?a1425 countenance?c1425 study?c1430 cloak1526 false colour1531 visure1531 face1542 masquery?1544 show1547 gloss1548 glass1552 affectation1561 colourableness1571 fashion1571 personage?1571 ostentation1607 disguise1632 lustrementa1641 grimace1655 varnish1662 masquerade1674 guisea1677 whitewash1730 varnish1743 maya1789 vraisemblance1802 Japan1856 veneering1865 veneer1868 affectedness1873 candy coating1885 simulance1885 window dressing1903 c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Cambr.) ii. pr. viii. 47 Whan she [fortune] descouereth hir frownt and sheweth hir maneres. 1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 140 [Medea] commanded that her ladies..shold put on the fayr front in entencion to make feste solempne. 1637 T. Heywood Royall King i. i. sig. C^v That face..beares the selfe-same front. 1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 20. ⁋3 A Fellow that is capable of shewing an impudent Front before a whole Congregation. 1762 W. Falconer Shipwreck ii. 33 Who, patient in Adversity, still bear The firmest front. 1810 T. Campbell On Visiting Scene in Argyleshire in Poet. Wks. I. 146 Through the perils of chance..May thy front be unaltered. 1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. vi. 131 The..unclouded front of an accomplished courtier. 1873–4 W. H. Dixon Hist. Two Queens IV. xxii. ix. 221 Kildare..resolved to..meet his accusers with a brazen front. 1900 ‘J. Flynt’ & ‘F. Walton’ Powers that Prey 181 It riles a bloke's sense o' justice to be accused false an' helps him to put up a front. 1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra (1935) 27 There was dancing and a hat-check girl and waiters in uniform and all that front. 1949 E. Coxhead Wind in West vii. 193 While he still put a good front on the affair, she said nothing. 1952 A. Baron With Hope, Farewell 124 It was only a front. He was scared stiff. 1953 R. Lehmann Echoing Grove 136 Will you kindly assist me to preserve a front till Monday?.. My parents have been through enough—we've got to put a face on it. in extended use.1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. ii. xiv. 309 The league, which had raised so bold a front against the government, had crumbled away.1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xi. 76 The lime~stone bastions..preserved a front of gloom and grandeur. 4. Effrontery, impudence. Cf. face n. 3, forehead n. 2. Now rare. So, †man of front. to have the front: to be sufficiently impudent. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pride > impudence > [noun] hardiessec1300 boldness1377 malapertness?a1439 over-boldnessc1450 insolencya1513 protervitya1527 impudency1529 sauce malapert1529 petulancy1537 procacitya1538 audacity1545 sauceliness1552 forehead1564 hardihead1579 hardihood1594 outfacing1598 audaciousness1599 impudentness1599 petulancea1600 impertinency1609 impertinence1612 impudencea1616 procacya1620 affrontedness1640 brow1642 front1653 insolence1668 affrontery1679 assurance1699 effrontery1715 affrontiveness1721 swagger1725 imperence1765 cheek1823 sassiness1834 cheekiness1838 pawk1855 gall1882 chutzpah1886 face1890 mouth1891 crust1900 rind1901 smarting1902 hide1916 brass neck1937 1653 H. More Antidote against Atheism in Coll. Philos. Writings (1712) iii. ix. 170 I..wonder how any man, except one of the most hardened front, can [etc.]. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 168. ⁋3 Men of Front carry Things before 'em with little Opposition. 1717 D. Defoe Mem. Church of Scotl. i. 2 With what Front the Absurdities charg'd on her could be broach'd in the World. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 293 None of the commissioners had the front to pronounce that [etc.]. II. Foremost part. 5. Military. a. The foremost line or part of an army or battalion. Also, †a rank (obsolete), and in words of command; e.g. files to the front, right in front. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > part of army by position > [noun] > van or front forerunnerseOE vantward1297 formerward13.. forme-ward13.. vamward1338 fronta1375 pointa1382 frontier?a1400 vawarda1400 forayc1425 avantwardc1440 avant-garde1470 vanward1476 vantguard1485 vanguard1487 foreward1490 forefront1513 foremen1577 forefight?1611 vaunta1616 van1633 first line1663 front line1677 firing line1859 a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 3584 In sexe semli batailes..al be-fore in þe frond he ferde þan him-selue. 1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) ii. x. sig. diii But alweyes kyng Lot helde hym in the formest frunte. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 22 Than..ffrochit into þe frount & a fray made. 1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres Gloss. 250 Fronte, a French word, is the face or foreparte of a squadron or battell. a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. vii. 8 Both our powers, with smiling Fronts encountring. View more context for this quotation 1625 G. Markham Souldiers Accidence 6 The Rankes are called Frunts, because they stand formost..but in truth none can properly be called the Frunt, but the ranke which standeth formost. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 105 Front to Front Presented stood in terrible array. View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 82 As Legions in the Field their Front display. View more context for this quotation 1700 S. L. tr. C. Frick Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 61 Commanded Captain Jochem, who led the Blacks, to march in the Front. 1775 R. King Life & Corr. (1894) I. 9 They..began their march, with a very wide Front. 1838–43 T. Arnold Hist. Rome III. xliii. 141 The..Gaulish horse charged the Romans front to front. 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 7 Files to the front. 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 18 A column Left in front will bring its rear companies to the front. 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 19 Open column, right in front—right about face. b. Line of battle. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [noun] > battle array arraya1375 ordinancec1385 fielda1393 front1487 stight1489 order of battle?1548 battle array1552 battle1577 battle-rayc1600 battalia1613 war1667 line of battle1695 ORBAT1975 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xvii. 569 The Inglis men com on sadly..Richt in a frount vith a Baner. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 165 And all fore to þe fight in a frunt hole. 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 318 They vsed to terrifie the Barbarians, setting their horses in a doubble front, so as they appeared headed both waies. 1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. 78 If we aduance in a large Front..if in a narrow Front. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 563 Advanc't in view they stand, a horrid Front Of dreadful length. View more context for this quotation 1710 London Gaz. No. 4744/2 Our ..Army..marched..to Attack the Enemy in full Front. 1838 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece (new ed.) III. 349 The Spartans..preserving an even and unbroken front. 1886 Daily News 13 Sept. 5/7 The troops marched past, the infantry in company fronts and the cavalry by half squadrons. c. The foremost part of the ground occupied, or in wider sense, of the field of operations; the part next the enemy. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > armed encounter > battlefield > [noun] > front or front line edge1535 front1665 firing line1859 Eastern Front1914 Western Front1914 line1916 second front1941 warfront1950 1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 440 Not onely the Front as heretofore, but the backside also..rendred unsafe. 1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. xli. 504 Belisarius protected his front with a deep trench. 1810 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) VI. 367 I propose to move up the infantry of the army to the front again. 1848 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 III. vii. 320 One division..was sent to take the stockades in rear, while another..threatened them from the front. 1879 J. C. Fife-Cookson Armies of Balkans i. 6 To see him before his departure for the front next day. 1889 R. Kipling Wee Willie Winkie 72 British Regiments were wanted—badly wanted—at the Front. 1944 Hutchinson's Pict. Hist. War 27 Oct. '43–11 Apr. '44 237 A 20-mile advance on the south of the bulge which opened up a ‘breakthrough’ front 60 miles in width. 1967 J. Marshall-Cornwall Napoleon iv. 50 Only 25,000 were available as a mobile field force, and these were extended..on a front of about 30 miles. figurative.1846 W. Greener Sci. Gunnery (new ed.) 54 The present state of our artillery requires an advance to the front, to be in a line with the march of science. d. The direction towards which the line faces when formed. change of front: see to change (one's) front at change v. Phrases 3a; in quot. figurative. to make front to: to face in the direction of; in quot. figurative. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [noun] > line > direction in which line faces front1832 1832 Proposed Regulations Cavalry iii. 46 Front—The direction towards which the line faces when formed. 1833 Regulations Instr. Cavalry i. i. 14 Front—The whole will face, as accurately as possible, to their former front. 1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. i. i. 15 The improvised Municipals make front to this also. 1879 J. Lubbock Addresses, Polit. & Educ. iv. 92 This change of front seems to be founded on the report of the Board of Education for Scotland. 1891 Daily News 28 Nov. 5/6 The eventuality of a war with two fronts—that is to say, with France and Russia—was foreseen. e. front of fortification n. see quot. 1859. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > earthwork or rampart > [noun] > bastion > two half bastions and curtain front of fortification1834 1834 J. S. Macaulay Treat. Field Fortification 21 The outline above traced is called a Front of Fortification. 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 261 A Front of Fortification consists of two half bastions, and a curtain. f. With modifying word. Originally: any sphere of non-combatant (esp. domestic) activity during wartime, perceived as part of a wider public contribution to the war effort. Later usually more generally: a particular situation or sphere of operation considered as a sector of social or public life.Recorded earliest in home front n. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair > affairs > sphere of activity fieldOE limitationc1405 hemisphere?1504 ambitudea1525 world1580 orb1598 spherea1616 ambit1649 scene1737 orblet1841 front1917 parish1940 ballpark1963 shtick1965 1917 Times 11 Apr. 5/6 The unity of the fighting front and the home front [in Germany] ought to be still more thoroughly understood by us. 1929 Nation 4 Dec. 696/1 Gleb's victory on the economic front is somewhat spoiled by his partial defeat on the ‘domestic front’. 1934 A. Huxley Beyond Mexique Bay 6 The amusement front had its duly appointed commissar. 1941 Punch 3 Sept. 211/3 My sister..writes..of the many..economical dishes she is now able to prepare as a result of the B.B.C. talks on the Kitchen Front. 1969 Times 6 Jan. 7/8 But the industry is fighting back on the marketing as well as the political front. 1991 Daily Tel. 5 Jan. 13/4 Doom and gloom on the economic front. 2003 Bitch Fall 49/2 The one who shows us what happens when a woman hasn't succeeded on either the career or the domestic front. g. transferred. An organized body of political forces. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > a party > [noun] > a combination of parties bloc1903 block1925 front1926 alliance1963 1926 D. L. Sayers Clouds of Witness vii. 157 A woman..looking like a personification of the United Front of the ‘Internationale’. 1934 Ann. Reg. 1933 ii. 171 A uniform National-Socialist organisation embracing all German workers was called into existence under the designation ‘The German Workers' Front’. 1936 E. A. Peers Spanish Trag. 1930–36 iv. 188 And combine under him [sc. Sr. Azaña] they did—Republican Left, Republican Union, Socialists, Syndicalists, Anarchists, Marxists and Communists—forming, for the purpose of the election campaign, a united phalanx, a ‘Popular Front’, as they called it: Frente Popular. 1940 Amer. Speech 15 453/2 He [sc. Dimitrov]..urged members of the Communist Party to organize ‘Popular Fronts’ in the democracies. 1968 Listener 15 Aug. 195/2 The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. 6. Architecture. ‘Any side or face of a building, but more commonly used to denote the entrance side’ (Gwilt); occasionally collective in singular, and plural = ‘the four sides’ (of a mansion). Also back-front, rear front n. 2. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > [noun] > front or face front1365 face1591 faciate1648 façade1656 frontsidea1699 frontage1861 1365 in W. H. D. Longstaffe & J. Booth Halmota Prioratus Dunelmensis (1889) 41 Non fecit clausuram tenementi sui de le front. 1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Ezek. xl. 9 He metide..the frount therof in two cubitis. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 181/1 Frownt, or frunt of a churche, or oþer howsys. 1624 H. Wotton Elements Archit. in Reliquiæ Wottonianæ (1672) 16 And the contrary fault of low distended Fronts, is as unseemly. 1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 26 A Building, which is 25 Feet, both in the Front and Reer Front. 1772 J. Adams tr. A. de Ulloa Voy. S. Amer. (ed. 3) II. 32 The fronts being of stone. 1803 Gazetteer Scotl. at Dundee The Town-house, an elegant structure, with a handsome front. 1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands III. 150 Monastic cloisters with their dark length of front. 1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands III. 166 One of the back-fronts of the old palace. 1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men II. xii. 355 The garden front was most inconveniently embowered..in forest trees. 1893 W. P. Courtney in Academy 13 May 413/1 The fronts of the mansion were decorated with statues by skilled sculptors. 7. a. gen. The part or side of an object which seems to look out or to be presented to the eye; the fore-part of anything, the part to which one normally comes first. Opposed to back, esp. in objects that have only two sides. Cf. back n.¹ 3. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > front > [noun] foremostc1275 headc1275 foreparty1398 forepartc1400 foresidec1400 devant1411 fronture1417 fore-endc1425 frontierc1430 forefront1488 forehead1525 frontc1540 vaunt1589 proscenium1648 frontside1697 van1726 fore-piece1788 façade1839 fore1888 the world > space > relative position > front > [noun] > extent of front frontc1540 frontage1844 the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > [noun] > front surface foresidec1400 frontc1540 confrontment1604 face1611 frontside1697 obverse1833 c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 164^v In þat frunt of þat faire yle Was a prouynse of prise. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde ii. x. f. 85^v We found the fyrst front of this land to bee brooder. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 41^v A lowe kinde of Carre with a couple of wheeles, and the Frunt armed with sharpe Syckles. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. xi. 13 Had he his hurts before?.. I, on the Front. 1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 5 The Front to the Sea is not large, but there are a great many Houses behind it, built up the Side of the Mountain. 1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall V. l. 171 The southern basis presents a front of a thousand miles to the Indian ocean. 1823 H. J. Brooke Familiar Introd. Crystallogr. 287 The opposite angles, edges, and planes, which are supposed to form the back of the engraved figure, are respectively similar to those which appear on its front. 1851 W. B. Carpenter Man. Physiol. (ed. 2) 398 The sternum itself being so largely developed, as to cover almost the entire front of the body. 1893 F. W. Maitland Mem. de Parl. Introd. 92 The skin being thin, the writing on the front could be seen upon the back. b. transferred. With reference to time: The first period; the beginning. poetic. ΘΚΠ the world > time > period > [noun] > beginning or end of a period terminusOE springinga1398 topc1440 fresh1566 front1609 skirt1624 epoch1673 turn1697 terminus post quem1834 terminus ante quem1858 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets cii. sig. G2 Philomell in summers front doth singe. View more context for this quotation 1842 Ld. Tennyson Gardener's Daughter in Poems (new ed.) II. 20 More black than ashbuds in the front of March. 1883 R. L. Stevenson Silverado Squatters 237 A hawthorn in the front of June. †c. = frontier n. 4. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > part of country or district > [noun] > border district(s) end-landc1175 marcha1325 bounds1340 coast1377 marcherc1475 border1489 marchland1536 confines1548 front1589 limitrophe1589 commark1612 land-march1614 frontier1676 Border-sidea1700 borderland1813 border-countryc1885 rimland1942 1589 R. Greene Spanish Masquerado sig. B4^v When the Sarasens..had inuaded Germanie, and the frontes of France. 1593 C. Hollyband Dict. French & Eng. Les frontieres d'vn pais, the frontiers of a countrey: the front or marches. d. Mining. = face n. 22a. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > working face or place witchet1677 face1708 front1717 stope1747 wall1750 web1767 working place1827 wall-face1839 offset1872 wicket1881 upset1883 1717 tr. A. F. Frézier Voy. South-Sea 183 A Mine, which is 40 Varas, or Spanish Yards in Front. 1867 W. W. Smyth Treat. Coal & Coal-mining 140 Let us now turn our attention to the ‘face’ or front of the working. e. Land facing a road, river, the sea, etc.; a frontage. spec. with the: the promenade of a seaside resort, often with adjoining gardens. Cf. seafront n. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > tract > [noun] > frontage frontagea1642 front1766 society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > holiday-making or tourism > [noun] > resort > beach or seaside resort Lido1673 front1766 seaside1782 sea-bath1785 plage1888 Gold Coast1919 society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > path or place for walking > [noun] > promenade > by the sea marine1615 promenade1648 front1766 marina1798 prom1909 1766 Laws of N. Carolina (1791) 234 The Water Fronts of the Lots herein before mentioned. 1769 Bp. Wilton Inclos. Act 2 Occupiers of ancient messuages, cottages, houses or fronts. 1904 Ward, Lock's Guide Isle of Man 44 The Queen's Promenade..is the part of the Front most favoured by visitors with a taste for quiet. 1920 Glasgow Herald 17 July 7 For them the ‘front’, palpitating with cheerful humanity, is Elysium. 1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock i. i. 20 A blow along the front'll do you good. 1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock i. iii. 42 I'd like to have asked them why he left me like that, to go scampering down the front in that sun. f. Theatrical. (See quots.) Also front-of-(the-)house attributive phr. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > auditorium > [noun] front1806 auditorium1854 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > people concerned with theatrical productions > [noun] > those who work before curtain front1806 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > people concerned with theatrical productions > [adjective] > relating to business staff front-of-(the-)house1930 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > stage > [adjective] > in front of proscenium arch front-of-(the-)house1930 1806 G. F. Cooke Diary 6 Dec. in W. Dunlap Mem. G.F.C. (1813) I. 328 Went to the theatre..passed Mr Rae into the front of the house. 1810 W. Scott Let. 30 Mar. (1932) II. 319 There was fine work in the front as they call the audience part of the house. 1894 Evening News 18 Oct. 2/6 Generally speaking, the ‘front of the house’ means the audience; but among theatrical employés the ‘front of the house’ means everybody engaged to work before the curtain. 1930 C. H. Ridge Stage Lighting iv. 62 Front-of-the-house lighting tends to flatness. 1935 C. H. Ridge & F. S. Aldred Stage Lighting viii. 73/2 The following notes may serve to sum up the subject of Front-of-House Lighting. 1961 W. P. Bowman & R. H. Ball Theatre Lang. 149 Front of house; front-of-house; front of the house; abbreviation, F.O.H. 1. The parts of the theatre in front of the proscenium arch. Hence, said of equipment placed therein, as, a front of house light... 4. The personnel and operations of the business staff, including the ushers, as, the front of house staff. 1985 Financial Times 20 July p. xiii/5 The ICA itself provides the performing space and front of house facilities. g. A person, organization, etc., that serves as a cover for subversive or illegal activities. So front man, front organization. Originally U.S. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > means of concealment > [noun] > of something illegal blind1694 front1905 1905 McClure's Mag. 24 346 For Brayton was the front, not the head of the System. 1926 J. Black You can't Win iv. 27 The store was but a ‘front’ or blind for a poker game and dice games in the back room. 1934 H. N. Rose Thes. Slang 25/1 Representative Who Poses as the ‘Big Shot’ of a Gang (n. phr.): the front man. 1938 H. Asbury Sucker's Progress 345 Their agent and front man was the Chief of Police. 1940 in Amer. Speech (1941) 16 146/2 Foreign ‘isms’..masquerading behind ‘front’ organizations. 1940 Time 29 Jan. 23/3 Department of Justice investigators believe that Earl Browder is a mere front-man. 1949 M. Miller Sure Thing (1950) 67 It's a front; the Commies control it. 1949 M. Miller Sure Thing (1950) 70 ‘I attended a camp of the Youth League of America.’ ‘You knew..that was merely a front for the Communist Party.’ 1951 J. Cornish Provincials 213 I dare say it was all a ‘front’ for spy activities. 1959 ‘M. Erskine’ House of Enchantress ix. 130 He was..respectable-looking and meek,..just the type to make an excellent front for Madame Rosario. 1960 Spectator 16 Sept. 408 He becomes the nark and front-man for an unscrupulous white landlord in a slum-house area. 1965 Spectator 19 Feb. 220/1 A Communist ‘front’ organisation formed and financed by the Communist régime in North Vietnam. h. Meteorology. A bounding surface or a transition zone between two air masses at different temperatures; also, the line on the ground that marks the lower edge of this surface; so cold front, warm front: the forward boundary of a mass of advancing cold, or warm, air. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > movements and pressure conditions > [noun] > uniform body of air > boundary of front1921 1921 J. Bjerknes & H. Solberg in Geofysiske Publikationer II. iii. 12 In the first case, the boundary line at the ground will be the front of advancing cold air, or, to introduce a shorter expression, a ‘cold front’. In the latter case, the boundary line will be the front of advancing warm air, or simply a ‘warm front’. 1923 W. N. Shaw Air & its Ways vii. 74 The polar front is regarded as being a bank of air with stream lines..over which the equatorial air is advancing gradually upward by motion directly transverse to the line of motion in the front. 1938 Nature 29 Oct. 804/1 Any pressure system, such as a cyclone, an anticyclone, a trough or a front. 1956 Weather May 147 The front is not a surface but a zone of rapid temperature transition between air masses. 1957 Times 11 May 7/1 A depression near Ireland will be slow moving and associated weak fronts will move slowly N.E. to E. districts. 1970 R. W. Longley Elem. Meteorol. x. 223 A frontal surface is the bounding surface between two air masses... The front is the intersection of such a frontal surface with the ground. †8. a. The first part or line of anything written or printed. in the front: at the head. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > written text > layout > [noun] > first part or line head1560 fronta1568 society > communication > printing > printed matter > arrangement or appearance of printed matter > [noun] > first part or line head1560 fronta1568 a1568 R. Ascham in A. Fleming Panoplie Epist. (1576) 435 I could not but in y^e very front and beginning of my letter, use this. 1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii. i. xx. f. 155 6. collums, euery front or head whereof is noted with three great letters, D.M.S. signifying degrees, minutes and seconds. 1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 94 A Catalogue of above three hundred Advisers, and his name in the Front. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 27 Thy Name..Shall in the front of every Page be shown. †b. = frontispiece n. 3 or 4. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > communication > book > leaves or pages of book > [noun] > page > first or title page title page1592 frontispiece1607 fore-page1623 front1646 title1651 1646 R. Crashaw Steps to Temple 128 If with distinctive Eye, and Mind, you looke Vpon the Front, you see more than one Booke. a1718 W. Penn Life in Wks. (1726) I. 147 Which the Reader may find in the Front of the Books they [the Prefaces] were designed for. 9. a. A fore-part or piece having some particular use or function. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > front > [noun] > having specific function front1847 1847 A. M. Gilliam Trav. Mexico (new ed.) 152 The body of the wagon is about equally balanced over the axletree, the front resting upon the tongue. 1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. II. 467 Pianoforte..in newly designed case with sliding front. 1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. III. 526 Boots and shoes..with elastic fronts and sides. †b. = frontal n. 2. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > faith > artefacts > cloths, carpets, cushions > cloth (general) > altar cloth > [noun] > at front hatchOE frontal1381 pall?a1475 antepend1501 pendle1501 stole1513 suffront1516 altar cloth1522 front1533 altar front1539 antependium1594 fronton1749 altar frontal1836 altar facing1856 1533 in F. W. Weaver Wells Wills (1890) 148 To the gyltyng of the ffrownt at the hye auter. 1539 Peterboro' Inv. in Notes & Queries (1863) 3rd Ser. 4 459 In the Rood Loft..one front of painted cloth. 1552–3 Inventory Church Goods in Ann. Diocese Lichfield (1863) IV. 66 One fronte for an alter of yelowe and grene satten. c. A band or bands of false hair, or a set of false curls, worn by women over the forehead. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > practice of wearing artificial hair > [noun] > artificial hair > section or lock of sidelock1530 lock1601 tour1674 snake1676 front1693 bull-tour1724 back-head1731 ramillies tail1782 frontlet1785 frisette1818 toupee1862 postiche1867 switch1870 pin-curl1873 scalpette1881 wig-tail1888 chichi1906 hairpiece1939 fall1943 toup1959 1693 W. Congreve Old Batchelour iv. iii. 35 I undertook the modelling of one of their Fronts, the more modern Structure. 1843 W. M. Thackeray Ravenswing i, in Fraser's Mag. Apr. 472/2 Mamma means her front. 1866 A. Trollope Belton Estate II. vi. 146 The graces of her own hair had given way to a front. 1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 24 Aug. 13/2 A..black velvet band..to keep her auburn front..in its place. d. That part of a man's shirt which covers the chest and is more or less displayed; a shirt-front; also, a ‘dicky’; also, a similar article of silk, etc. serving as a cravat. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > neck-wear > [noun] > neck-tie or cravat > cravat > types of bib-cravat1684 burdash1707 chin-cushion1747 King William cravat1747 Soubise1776 front1843 guillotine-cravat1880 the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > shirt > part of > front shirt bosom1748 shirt front1826 front1843 bosom1863 the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > shirt > part of > front > detached half-shirt1661 sham1721 shirtee1805 dicky1807 shirt front1830 front1843 shirt bosom1858 plastron1888 vestee1904 1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xvii. 223 What a very few shirts there are, and what a many fronts. 1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. III. 579 Gentlemen's fronts and stocks. e. The front part of a woman's garment. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > front sychts1542 fore-body1611 front1801 1801 J. Austen Let. 6 May (1995) 83 It is to be a round Gown, with a Jacket & a Frock front..to open at the side. 1801 J. Austen Let. 6 May (1995) 83 The front is sloped round to the bosom & drawn in. 1889 Daily News 23 July 7/2 The travelling mantle..buttons the whole way down the front, and is provided with over-fronts which fall straight from the shoulders. 1889 Daily News 23 July 7/2 These fronts are lined with yellow and pink..surah. 1932 E. Bowen To North iv. 38 One wore frills down her front, she was going to have a baby. 10. A position or place situated before something or towards a spectator; forward position or situation. Only in phrases with prefixed prep. a. in (the) front of (preposition phr.): at a position before, in advance of, facing, or confronting; at the head of (troops). to get in front of oneself: to hurry, ‘hustle’ (U.S. slang). in his, our, etc. front: in front of or facing him, us, etc.The article is now omitted, except in expressions like in the (very) front of (danger etc.) = ‘in the position most exposed to’, ‘bearing the brunt of’. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > front > in front of [preposition] toforea900 aforeeOE atforec1000 forneOE beforeOE forne toc1175 afornonc1275 forne an, atc1275 forouthc1375 aforewardc1380 before the face ofa1382 forwitha1400 forne inc1540 afront1558 ahead1578 in (the) front of1609 in advance1656 forward of1838 front of1843 the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > going first or in front > in advance or in front [phrase] to (the) headward1577 in (the) front of1609 to the fore with1646 in one's van1720 in the first flight1852 the world > space > relative position > front > at or in (the) front [phrase] in (the) front1613 in his, our, etc. front1777 the world > space > relative position > opposite position > opposite [phrase] > facing in his, our, etc. front1777 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 144 I saw..a pragmatical Portugal..in the front of 40 men marching to the Governor's. 1712 W. Rogers Cruising Voy. 174 We..fir'd..at the Men in Arms in the front of the Church. 1777 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip II I. vii. 221 Behind him there was a little wood and the walls of a convent; and in his front, the morass above mentioned, which was almost impassable. 1816 M. Keating Trav. (1817) I. 225 The standards were faced about, and formed in our fronts. 1832 H. Douglas Ess. Mil. Bridges (ed. 2) iii. 140 Forcing a passage across the river in his front. 1847 A. M. Gilliam Trav. Mexico (new ed.) 256 I was particular to make my servants keep in front of me. 1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 1 The proclamation was repeated..in front of the Royal Exchange. figurative.1609 C. Tourneur Funerall Poeme sig. B3^v I'th'front Of danger, where he did his deedes advance.1817 T. Chalmers Series Disc. Christian Revelation v. 176 Those holy..men..in the front of severest obloquy, are now labouring in remotest lands.1848 W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc Hist. Ten Years II. 345 In the very front of danger.1892 Spectator 12 Mar. 353/1 His majesty will speedily be in front of a new difficulty.1896 Westm. Gaz. 28 July 9/2 The shares had nothing in front of them—no preference or debenture capital.1907 Daily Chron. 21 Oct. 6/4 There is a common American phrase, which expresses better than anything else the curious effect of this policy of ‘hustle’ upon the national temperament. They say that a man gets ‘in front of himself’. b. in (†the) front (adverbial phr.): in an advanced or forward position; on the side that meets the eye; in a position facing the spectator. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > front > at or in (the) front [phrase] in (the) front1613 in his, our, etc. front1777 1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 380 With his whole forces, in front, [he] assailed. 1700 T. Brown Amusem. Serious & Comical iii. 21 By comes a Christning, with the Reader and the Midwife strutting in the Front. 1748 Acct. Voy. for Discov. North-west Passage I. 133 The upper Story had the two Captains Cabins in Front. 1821 G. W. Manby Voy. Greenland (1823) 134 Determined..to attack him [a bear] in front, I got upon the ice. 1847 A. M. Gilliam Trav. Mexico (new ed.) 76 These dirt hovels presented a bold contrast with the city behind, and the wealthy church in front. 1847 A. M. Gilliam Trav. Mexico (new ed.) 99 A kind of shawl [which] by being crossed in front, obscures the bosom. 1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight ix. 129 The most injurious direction for light to come from is that directly in front. 1895 Sc. Antiquary 10 78 Setting an old press in front so as to conceal the door. c. to the front (of): to a position in front (of). ΘΚΠ the world > space > direction > specific directions > [phrase] > to the front to the front (of)1820 1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions I. 235 Being removed to the front of a brisk fire, a strong ebullition commenced. 1887 C. Bowen tr. Virgil Æneid v, in tr. Virgil in Eng. Verse 228 Far to the front shoots Gyas.. Gliding ahead on the water. d. to come to the front: to become conspicuous, be revealed, emerge into publicity; to make oneself or itself manifest. So (to be) to the front = ‘to the fore’ (rare). ΘΚΠ the world > life > source or principle of life > continuance or tenacity of life > continue in life [verb (intransitive)] nesteOE to live forthOE overliveOE lastc1225 livec1410 survive1473 supervive1532 subsist?1533 skill1537 to live on1590 outlive1594 (to be) to the front1871 society > communication > manifestation > disclosure or revelation > disclose or make revelations [verb (intransitive)] > be disclosed or revealed to come to (also in, on) (the) lightOE sutelea1000 kitheOE unfoldc1350 disclosea1513 burst1542 to break up1584 to take vent1611 vent1622 bleed1645 emerge1664 to get (also have) vent1668 to get or take wind1668 to stand (appear) confessed1708 eclat1736 perspire1748 transpire1748 to come out1751 develop1805 unroll1807 spunk1808 effloresce1834 to come to the front1871 to show up1879 out1894 evolve1920 to come or crawl out of the woodwork1964 1871 Archæol. Assoc. Jrnl. Sept. 323 Another saint came to the front. 1876 G. O. Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay II. ix. 132 When subjects came to the front on which his knowledge was great. 1878 Scribner's Monthly 16 184/2 At such a time his true boastful self would come to the front. 1885 E. Lynn Linton Autobiogr. Christopher Kirkland III. vi. 231 Underneath in the hidden depths lurked other matters than those which came to the front. 1886 Daily News 6 Jan. 5/1 The year has gone, however, and the aged Emperor is still to the front. 11. elliptical (quasi-adj. or adv.) a. spec. = front-pipe n. at Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > pipe > front-pipe(s) front-pipe1855 front1879 speaking front1881 ?1677 S. Primatt City & Covntry Purchaser & Builder 36 Suppose that same be 25 foot Front, and forty foot deep, it may be let for to be built, for forty shillings the foot Front. c1680 E. Hickeringill Wks. (1716) II. 512 The Enemy..had beset them Front and Rear. 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 8 The biggest of them [buildings] had not four yards Front. 1845 Florist's Jrnl. 6 25 A little shed, open back and front. 1879 Organ Voicing 12 Zinc is frequently used for basses and ‘fronts’. 1892 I. Zangwill Big Bow Myst. 127 It's the key of my first-floor front. b. front of: in front of. U.S. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > front > in front of [preposition] toforea900 aforeeOE atforec1000 forneOE beforeOE forne toc1175 afornonc1275 forne an, atc1275 forouthc1375 aforewardc1380 before the face ofa1382 forwitha1400 forne inc1540 afront1558 ahead1578 in (the) front of1609 in advance1656 forward of1838 front of1843 1843 ‘R. Carlton’ New Purchase I. xv. 110 Front of the fire-place was the parlour. 1871 H. B. Stowe Oldtown Fireside Stories 45 Wall, she was a standin' front o' this. 1896 S. O. Jewett Country of Pointed Firs 107 He used to..throw a little bundle 'way up the green slope front o' the house. c. As a command: to the front, forward. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > forward movement > [noun] > as a command front1907 1907 N.Y. Evening Post (Semi-weekly ed.) 13 May 6 The register clerk [at a Shanghai hotel] assigns you to a room, and instead of ‘Front!’ he shouts ‘Boy!’ †12. [from the verb.] Encounter, onset; = affront n. 1. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > attack > [noun] fiend-reseOE frumresec1275 assault1297 sault1297 inracea1300 sailing13.. venuea1330 checkc1330 braid1340 affrayc1380 outrunningc1384 resinga1387 wara1387 riota1393 assailc1400 assayc1400 onset1423 rake?a1425 pursuitc1425 assemblinga1450 brunta1450 oncominga1450 assembly1487 envaya1500 oncomea1500 shovea1500 front1523 scry1523 attemptate1524 assaulting1548 push1565 brash1573 attempt1584 affront?1587 pulse1587 affret1590 saliaunce1590 invasion1591 assailment1592 insultation1596 aggressa1611 onslaught1613 source1616 confronta1626 impulsion1631 tentative1632 essaya1641 infall1645 attack1655 stroke1698 insult1710 coup de main1759 onfall1837 hurrah1841 beat-up of quarters1870 offensive1887 strafe1915 grand slam1916 hop-over1918 run1941 strike1942 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccccxxxii. 760 The men of armes..at the first front ouerthrue many. Compounds C1. attributive. a. = Of or pertaining to the front, situated in front. (The combination of adjective + noun is itself often used attributively.) Frequently in various more or less technical uses. ΚΠ 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxxvii. 957 They had raunged their ships broad in a front-ranke. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 145. ⁋ 2 She in a Front Box, he in the Pit next the Stage. 1710 Brit. Apollo 27–29 Nov. The Front side of a good House, is to be Lett. 1718 Free-thinker No. 57. 1 I shall be next Saturday at the Play in a Front Row. 1770 G. White Let. Mar. in Nat. Hist. Selborne (1789) 80 The horn of a male moose, which had no front-antlers. 1832 Proposed Regulations Cavalry ii. 33 The leading front-rank man advances two horses' lengths. 1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. ii. iii. 147 The front entrance is kept locked up. 1843 C. Scudamore Med. Visit Gräfenberg 2 The small-pox, and the loss of some front teeth from an accident, impair his good looks. 1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. II. 467 A front and side elevation of the Elizabethan pianoforte. 1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. x. 275 A straight pinnacle of ice, the front edge of which was perfectly vertical. 1883 Expositor 6 434 He [St. Peter] was naturally quick, mobile, a front~man. 1884 Instr. Mil. Engin. (ed. 3) I. ii. 43 The front ditch party are extended at 5 feet apart. 1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 267/2 It ruins the tyres, and, if applied to the front wheel, puts a great strain on the front forks. 1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 493/1 It often happens in heavy shooting that the recoil of the second barrel causes the front trigger to cut the first joint of the fore-finger. 1902 Captain 7 474 Crabb front rim brake. 1907 Daily Chron. 11 Nov. 7/4 The front axle being..used for both steering and driving alike. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 18 Jan. 7/2 Front-pressure over the area of a railway carriage must be from 25lb. to 35lb. per sq. foot before the stability of the train is imperilled. 1908 Daily Chron. 3 July 6/4 This front~cover picture. 1925 Morris Man. 68 When the front axle is off the ground, the pedal should be depressed. 1967 Gloss. Mining Terms (B.S.I.) xi. 8 Front abutment pressure. b. Phonetics. Applied to sounds in the formation of which the fore-part of the tongue touches or is raised towards the hard palate. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by place or organ > [adjective] > lingual > by position of tongue fronted1615 back1867 front1867 inner1867 outer1867 1867 A. M. Bell Visible Speech: Sci. Universal Alphabetics 52 Front. The Front of the Tongue contracting the oral passage between it and the roof of the mouth. 1867 A. M. Bell Visible Speech: Sci. Universal Alphabetics 52 Front-Mixed. The Front and the Point of the Tongue both raised. 1867 A. M. Bell Visible Speech: Sci. Universal Alphabetics 58 The ‘Front-divided’ Consonant has its side apertures within the palatal arch. 1888 H. Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds (new ed.) 2 Front vowels are rounded by the lips only. 1918 D. Jones Outl. Eng. Phonetics ix. 45 In clear varieties of l the front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate, while in dark varieties of l the back of the tongue is raised in the direction of the soft palate. In other words, clear l-sounds have the resonance of front vowels, whereas dark l-sounds have the resonance of back vowels. 1962 A. C. Gimson Introd. Pronunc. Eng. v. 47 The so-called ‘clear’ [l] with a front vowel resonance. C2. In special combinations and phrases. front-action adj. (see quots.). ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > [adjective] > by method of firing flintless1810 rimfire1867 hammerless1875 front-action1881 flintlocked1885 1881 W. W. Greener Gun & its Devel. 209 Back-action locks..tend to weaken the stock at the grip more than front-action locks. 1907 W. W. Greener Gun & its Devel. (ed. 8) 144 If the mainspring [of the lock]..is placed before the tumbler, it is ‘front action’ or ‘bar’. front bench n. the foremost bench on either side of the Houses of Lords and Commons, occupied by ministers and ex-ministers respectively. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [noun] > place of > parts of floor1774 gangway1818 lobby1845 back bench1874 front bench1891 1891 Daily News 28 July 3/4 To have seen the motion carried on the strength of the two Front Bench speeches. front-bencher n. an occupant of a front bench, a leading member of the Government or Opposition. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [noun] > Member of Parliament > other types of member burgessc1425 private member1606 recruiter1648 university member1774 unofficial member1822 labour member1871 Labour-Liberal1890 service member1890 front-bencher1907 back-bencher1910 shire-member1910 1907 Westm. Gaz. 31 Aug. 1/3 Each Unionist Front-Bencher will have to do a double or treble turn. 1919 G. B. Shaw Heartbreak House Pref. in Heartbreak House, Great Catherine, & Playlets of War p. ix Where were our front benchers to nest if not here? 1968 Listener 30 May 694/3 Would you say that to be in opposition as a backbencher, or indeed even as a frontbencher, is virtually a role of impotence? front brake n. = front-wheel brake ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > devices to retard or stop motion > brake or braking apparatus > on front wheel front brake1925 1925 Morris Man. 68 From the points near the ends of the front number plate to the front brake assemblies. 1959 Motor Man. (ed. 36) v. 137 (caption) Details of a Lockheed hydraulic two-leading-shoe front brake. front brick n. brick for the front of a building. ΚΠ 1868 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1865–6 6 39 Best Brick Machine for making fine Front Brick. front burner n. a boiling ring or plate at the front of a cooking stove; frequently used figuratively in colloquial phrase on the front burner (originally U.S.): of an issue, etc., in the state of being urgently considered; in the forefront of attention; of a plan, that receives priority; cf. to cook on the front burner at cook v.¹ Phrases 3; opposed to back burner n. at back- comb. form 2. ΚΠ 1945 L. Shelly Hepcats Jive Talk Dict. 23/1 Cooking on the front burner, tops. 1970 Times 26 Sept. 7/2 The whole issue is now on the front burner with the flame turned up high. 1978 Guardian Weekly 4 June 16/4 Meany's agreement..that inflation has indeed superseded employment as the key problem..was remarkable for the most influential man on the labor scene, who for obvious reasons normally keeps the jobs picture on the front burner. front cloth n. Theatre a painted cloth before which a scene is played while the stage is set for another scene behind it. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > scenery > cloth > types of sky-border1744 skydrop1854 skycloth1871 sea-cloth1883 cut cloth1884 front cloth1884 backcloth1886 backdrop1913 cyclorama1915 teaser1916 scrim1930 cut drop1961 1884 J. Hatton H. Irving's Impress. Amer. II. xi. 268 Every scene is a set, except two, and they are front cloths. 1896 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 1 Feb. 123/2 Long enough to allow the carpenters time to set the most elaborate water-scene behind the front cloth. 1958 B. Nichols Sweet & Twenties 141 Those most precious of all items to the revue writer, the ‘front-cloth numbers’, which can be played without props or scenery. front-driven adj. designating a motor car in which the power is transmitted to the front wheels. ΚΠ 1907 Daily Chron. 11 Nov. 7/4 The front-driven vehicle is much less liable to sideslip than when the front wheels are merely pushed forward from the rear. front driver n. (see driver n. 13b). front-fastening adj. that fastens in front. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > fastened in specific way > other well-laced?1590 frogged1774 tight-laced1861 front-fastening1871 fly-fronted1901 zip-up1927 1871 Figure Training 88 A front-fastening corset. front flight n. = first flight (see flight n.¹ 8d); also attributive. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > going first or in front > [adjective] foregoing1530 headmost1592 beginning1609 first1647 previous1658 forehand1664 leading1771 lead1846 vanmost1865 front flight1899 1899 Westm. Gaz. 1 Dec. 4/2 The field gradually tailed off and only the front-flight men were able to keep on terms. 1902 Daily Chron. 5 Dec. 3/4 A department of the chase upon which front-flight men of the shires may be inclined to look down. front foot n. a linear foot along the front of a plot of ground (cf. foot front at sense 11a). ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > [noun] > site of or for (a) building(s) > measure of front of front foot1812 1812 Deb. Congr. U.S. 4 May (1853) 2288 [The city of Washington] shall have power to cause [street improvements] to be done at any expense not exceeding two dollars and fifty cents per front foot. 1865 Harper's Mag. Aug. 319/1 Men bought town lots for $400 a front foot. 1925 B. Snyder Real Estate Handbk. 341 The land value map is designed to show the value of the land per front foot. 1925 B. Snyder Real Estate Handbk. 341 These front-foot values are called unit values. front-handed adj. done with a forward movement of the hand. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > bodily movement > [adjective] > done by specific movement of part overhand1656 front-handed1843 wristy1867 straight-arm1946 1843 Peter Parley's Ann. 74 He..made a quick front-handed plunge in the direction from which the attack came. front-loader n. a machine, esp. a washing-machine, designed to be loaded from the front, as distinct from one loaded from the top, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > [noun] > washing-machine > type of Laundromat1943 front-loader1960 washer-dryer1968 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 12 Jan. 84 (advt.) Independent operation of front-loaders, dozers, etc. 1970 Guardian 17 Nov. 9/2 The best laundromat machines..are the front-loaders. front-loading adj. ΚΠ 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 8 Mar. 25/1 Taper ditching bucket and..hydraulic front-loading shovel. 1984 Which? Aug. 384/2 For front-loading automatics, eczema sufferers may find ordinary automatic washing powders less of a problem than biological ones. front-load v. [as a back formation] (transitive) (a) U.S. to concentrate a load at the front of (a vehicle); (in quots. figurative); (b) to load (a washing-machine, etc.) from the front; also transferred. ΚΠ 1977 New Yorker 26 Sept. 85/1 I decided to frontload the court system instead of backloading it as before, by settling minor cases at the time of arraignment, the first step in the court process. 1984 Listener 15 Mar. 5/1 He was planning to ‘front-load’ his campaign with successes in Iowa, New Hampshire and on ‘Super Tuesday’. front man n. spec. (originally U.S.) (a) see sense 7g; (b) the leader of a band; (c) one who represents an organization, etc., publicly; spec. a television presenter. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > conductor or leader > [noun] > leader of band ductor15.. leader1530 drum major1689 choragus1727 band-leader1894 front man1937 name bandleader1958 1937 Amer. Speech 12 46/1 Front man, the leader of the band. 1946 R. Blesh Shining Trumpets (1949) xii. 279 To hire New Orleans players and then leave them free to play jazz, never occurred to the natty swing ‘front men’. 1959 ‘F. Newton’ Jazz Scene xi. 186 A good and permanent band is normally run by a martinet, or a ‘natural’ front man with an eye to the public. 1977 TV Times (Brisbane) 3 Sept. 18/2 Its producers faced another crisis. They met this..by casting about for another compere... They imported another frontman, David Frost, albeit briefly. 1985 Washington Post 25 Oct. c3/1 I hate to sound like a front man for the Network of Bill Cosby. front matter n. Printing (originally U.S.) all matter (title page, preface, table of contents, etc.) in a book that precedes the text; the prelims. ΘΚΠ society > communication > book > matter of book > [noun] > matter preceding text front matter1909 1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. Front matter. 1920 Publishers' Weekly 4 Oct. 1660/2 We have cast-off your manuscript and estimate it will make 8 pages of front-matter and 248 pages of text. 1966 H. Williamson Methods Bk. Design (ed. 2) xii. 176 American designers sometimes use the terms ‘front matter’ and ‘end matter’. front money n. originally U.S. money paid in advance or at the beginning of a business transaction, esp. to secure additional finance or co-operation; cf. upfront adv. and adj. ΚΠ 1931 W. L. Stoddard Financial Racketeering i. 4 Front Money, money advanced to a salesman before commissions are earned. Money paid by companies for the purpose of securing finances, such money being paid to so-called ‘financial engineers’ on their promise to secure finances, which promises are seldom carried out. 1964 Times Rev. Industry & Technol. Feb. 11/1 His [sc. a film distributor's] guarantee is the necessary security on which the producer can borrow money from a bank. The amount borrowed constitutes what is known as front money and has absolute priority of repayment. 1977 H. Fast Immigrants v. 307 It's an investment. We call it front money, seed money. When the studio picks up, the money is repaid. front name n. U.S. (jocular or vulgar) a Christian name. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > naming > name or appellation > [noun] > first name first namea1325 forename1534 praenomen1603 pre-name1728 front name1877 1877 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 4) Front name, Christian name. ‘The familiar manner in which the telegraph handles my front name’, i.e. in calling him Ben. 1895 Pall Mall Mag. Mar. 511 ‘What's your front name?’ asked Roy boldly. front office n. originally U.S. a main or head office; spec. police headquarters. ΘΚΠ society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police office or station police office1781 station1814 police station1820 factory1890 front office1900 cop-shop1941 law station1958 bear den1975 1900 ‘J. Flynt’ Notes Itinerant Policeman 73 The capture dwindles down to a request on the part of the chief or his officer that the man shall go to the ‘front office’. 1935 P. G. Wodehouse Blandings Castle xii. 302 The Front Office has just sent out a communication to all writers. 1966 Punch 1 June 818/1 This is the sort of thing that can happen when the ‘front office’ is dubious about a film's popular appeal. front page n. the front outside page of a newspaper; often attributive to indicate an important or striking piece of news; so front-page v. trans. (originally and chiefly U.S.), to feature on the front page. ΘΚΠ society > communication > journalism > journal > parts and layout of journals > [verb (transitive)] > feature on front page front page1902 society > communication > journalism > journal > parts and layout of journals > [noun] > page of newspaper > front page front page1902 1902 Out West Jan. 39 Bearing on its front page a picture of the murderer, and the ‘story’. 1917 Writer's Bull. Mar. 56/2 He pounds the typewriter keys And in the distance clearly sees A front page story and a raise. 1917 P. G. Wodehouse Uneasy Money xii. 134 ‘Why, we may all be murdered in our beds!’ he cried. ‘Front page stuff!’ said Roscoe Sherriff, with gleaming eyes. 1929 Times 4 Feb. 13/5 The recent serious illness of the King has been ‘front page news’ from the beginning. 1929 M. Lief Hangover 54 Most of these society dames front-paged their fed-uppance with tea-fights and garden soirées. 1957 N.Z. News 17 Dec. 2/1 The New York Times front-paged Labour's victory. 1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 4 July 377/3 It is most gratifying to see a front-page article..devoted to an intelligent and knowledgeable discussion of contemporary Russian poets. 1970 Daily Tel. 1 Jan. 5/8 Mr Barber is too good a journalist not to give the whole story breathless front-page excitement. front-pager n. one who is worthy of being featured on the front page; a celebrity. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > fame or renown > famous or eminent person > [noun] kingeOE master-spiritc1175 douzepersc1330 sire1362 worthya1375 lantern1382 sira1400 greatc1400 noblec1400 persona1425 lightc1425 magnate?a1439 worthyman1439 personagec1460 giant1535 honourablec1540 triedc1540 magnifico1573 ornament1573 signor1583 hero1592 grandee1604 prominent1608 name1611 magnificent1612 choice spirita1616 illustricity1637 luminary1692 lion1715 swell1786 notable1796 top-sawyer1826 star1829 celebrity1831 notability1832 notoriety1841 mighty1853 tycoon1861 reputation1870 public figure1871 star turn1885 headliner1896 front-pager1899 legend1899 celeb1907 big name1909 big-timer1917 Hall of Famer1948 megastar1969 1899 Daily News 28 Feb. 4/7 A dazzling array of eminent ‘front-pagers’. 1934 A. Huxley Beyond Mexique Bay 3 The gay and charming front-pagers who go on winter cruises are, in the main, elderly people. front-piece n. Theatre a small play acted in front of the curtain. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > other types of play king play1469 king game1504 historya1509 chronicle history1600 monology1608 horseplaya1627 piscatory1631 stock play1708 petite pièce1712 mimic1724 ballad opera1730 ballad farce1735 benefit-play1740 potboiler1783 monodrama1793 extravaganza1797 theo-drama1801 monodrame1803 proverb1803 stock piece1804 bespeak1807 ticket-night1812 dramaticle1813 monopolylogue1819 pièce d'occasion1830 interlude1831 mimea1834 costume piece1834 mummers' play1849 history play1850 gag-piece1860 music drama1874 well-made1881 playlet1884 two-decker1884 slum1885 kinderspiel1886 thrill1886 knockabout1887 two-hander1888 front-piece1889 thriller1889 shadow-play1890 mime play1894 problem play1894 one-acter1895 sex play1899 chronicle drama1902 thesis-play1902 star vehicle1904 folk-play1905 radio play1908 tab1915 spy play1919 one-act1920 pièce à thèse1923 dance-drama1924 a mess of plottage1926 turkey1927 weepie1928 musical1930 cliffhanger1931 mime drama1931 triangle drama1931 weeper1934 spine-chiller1940 starrer1941 scorcher1942 teleplay1947 straw-hatter1949 pièce noire1951 pièce rose1951 tab show1951 conversation piece1952 psychodrama1956 whydunit1968 mystery play1975 State of the Nation1980 1889 Evening News in A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang (at cited word) At the Gaiety..a farce, ‘Lot 49’, by Mr. Fisher, as a front piece to ‘Frankenstein’. 1907 Daily Chron. 9 Nov. 4/4 Thirty-four full-length plays and seven front-pieces. front-pipe n. each of the row of pipes which form the front of an organ, often gilded or otherwise decorated. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > pipe > front-pipe(s) front-pipe1855 front1879 speaking front1881 1855 E. J. Hopkins Organ 73 Tin does not soon become tarnished; hence its peculiar appropriateness for ungilded ‘front pipes’. 1905 T. Elliston Organs & Tuning 393 The front pipes to be of stout V.M. zinc silvered with aluminium leaf. 1954 Grove's Dict. Music (ed. 5) VI. 290/2 The front pipes were made of tin, those inside of lead. front rank n. the first or foremost rank; also attributive. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > [noun] > preceding in order > first of a series foremosta1250 summity1624 protoplast1645 front rank1872 lead-off1886 1872 G. Meredith Let. 15 Nov. (1970) I. 472 The suspicion that Burton did not do what he said is unworthy, considering the things he has undoubtedly accomplished, and which place him in the front rank of adventurous travellers. 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 104. 579 This rifle..stands in the ‘front rank’ with the very best target rifles of this and other countries. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 10 Mar. 4/3 Mr. Fox, another front-rank costumier. 1935 Discovery Nov. 321 British manufacturers are in the front rank in this branch of scientific industry. front-ranker n. a person (ship, etc.) of the highest class or of leading position. ΚΠ 1905 Westm. Gaz. 25 Mar. 15/1 The eagerness which was displayed by some ‘front-rankers’ to get a ‘line’ of the Ceylon Pearl Syndicate's underwriting. 1914 in E. C. Barnes Alfred Yarrow (1923) xxvii. 260 The Firedrake and Lurcher were looked upon as two front-rankers. 1928 Manch. Guardian Weekly 7 Dec. Suppl. p. vi/1 It is a long time since a year's verse list was led by so many front rankers. 1963 Times 9 Feb. 10/5 London's light operatic conductors, at a time when Ivan Caryll, Herman Finck, Jimmy Glover, and Alfred Dove were front-rankers. front room n. a room situated at the front of a house, esp. a sitting-room; spec. one kept as the best room in the house. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > room by type of use > [noun] > best room chamber1644 front room1679 best room1719 fore-room1728 spence1786 parlour1825 speak-a-word room1825 1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vii. 133 If your Shop stand in an eminent Street, the Front Rooms are commonly more Airy than the Back Rooms. 1827 A. N. Royall Tennessean ii. 12 What were you doing in this front room? I was sweeping it. 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses iii. xvii. [Ithaca] 658 He..reascended the stairs, reapproached the door of the front room, hallfloor, and reentered. 1976 T. Sharpe Wilt ii. 11 She got the washing-up done and the front room vacuumed. 1986 N.Y. Times 23 Feb. i. 18/4 Mr. Tutuola sits in the front room of his apartment, tugging constantly on his metal-stemmed pipe. front-runner n. originally U.S. ‘(i) a contestant who runs best when in the lead; also, one who can set his own fast pace; (ii) the leading contestant in a competition’ (Webster 1961). ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > dissent > competition or rivalry > [noun] > competitor or rival > one who takes part in a competition > specific types of competitor dark horse1832 probable1868 novice1897 front-runner1914 1914 Automobile 27 Aug. 390/2 Always a front-runner, he soon opened a gap on the field which looked to be a safe one. 1952 Birmingham (Alabama) News 5 May 12/1 Not a front runner, he is a dark horse who might come in first should Taft and Eisenhower cancel each other out. 1960 Times 29 June 17/7 There can be no doubt that the emergence of a few brave front-runners has lifted the middle distance running out of the doldrums. 1970 W. Smith Gold Mine vii. 18 He had joined C.R.C. a mere twelve years previously..and now he was the front runner. front-running adj. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > dissent > competition or rivalry > [adjective] > type of competitor front-running1940 the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > [adjective] > winning > in winning position front-running1940 1940 Time 4 Nov. 71 He has won most of his subsequent newspaper clippings by front-running for the U.S.'s No. 1 anti-Wall Street financier. 1951 Life 1 Oct. 32/1 Taft is the strongest single Republican and the front-running candidate for the '52 nomination. front-run v. [as a back formation] (intransitive) . ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > dissent > competition or rivalry > compete or rival [verb (intransitive)] > be a leading competitor front-run1950 the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)] > win > be in winning position front-run1950 1950 N.Y. Times 11 June 53/2 Wade beat Pearman by nine yards in the 880 with a front-running race. 1958 Times 24 Oct. 17/6 Eldon tried to front-run without the necessary strength and experience. front-stall n. an appendage to the bridle covering the horse's forehead. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > halter or bridle > parts of headstallc1330 trench1480 stalk1497 musrol1551 head-strain?1561 water-chain?1561 throat band1585 cavesson1598 mullen1598 nose bit?a1600 front-stall1601 ampyx1607 chain1607 fillet1607 cheek-band1611 cheekpiece1611 noseband1611 throat thong1611 headpiece1678 throatlatch1693 headband1704 trenchefil1730 bridoon1744 banquet1753 head1756 cheek1795 throat strap1803 frontlet1805 throat-lash1805 cheekstrap1834 brow-band1844 nosepiece1865 shank1879 society > armed hostility > military equipment > armour > armour for horse > [noun] > for head testerc1386 cheveronnec1420 chamfron1465 shaffron1465 headpiece1530 chaffron1547 frontal1587 chieffront1598 frontlet1805 front-stall1825 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 631 The KK. of the East had their horses set out therewith [cochlides]..in their frontstals. 1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 2nd Bk. Wks. xii. 83 A barbed horse furnished with a frontstal. 1825 W. Scott Talisman i, in Tales Crusaders III. 8 The front-stall of the bridle was a steel plate, with apertures for the eyes and nostrils. † front-tickled adj. Obsolete ? flattered.Apparently an isolated use. ΚΠ a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry V ciii, in Poems (1878) IV. 126 But faire pretence leads on; and the Dull Heard Front-tickled, yeild themselves into his hand. front trench n. Military the trench or trenches forming the front line in trench warfare.Usually with reference to the First World War (1914–18). ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > earthwork or rampart > [noun] > trench > types of trench transverse1704 front trench1847 communicating trench1857 shelter-trench1870 firing bay1885 communication trench1903 fire trench1907 funk-hole1914 support trench1914 foxhole1915 fire bay1916 slit-trench1942 1847 Colburn's United Service Mag. Apr. 603 The fusileers advance into the front trenches, and suddenly darting up,..fire one volley. 1915 D. Haig Diary 9 May in War Diaries & Lett. 1914–18 (2005) 122 The assault by the 1st Division was well carried out. Men advanced with great dash and apparently in some places got into the Enemy's front trenches. 1916 ‘B. Cable’ Action Front 143 The stretcher-bearers carried their burden into the front trench. 1944 D. S. Freeman Lee's Lieutenants III. vii. 135 Steuart's men still were holding a section of the front trenches of the enemy. 1995 M. Samuels Command or Control? vi. 162 With the opposing trench lines little more than 100 metres apart, it was not possible to disguise the front trench. front-ways adv. ΚΠ 1863 R. H. Gronow Reminisc. II. 46 The cocked hat he always wore, placed frontways on his head, like that of the Emperor Napoleon. front wheel n. the foremost or either of the foremost wheels upon which a vehicle runs; also attributive, as front-wheel brake, front-wheel drive. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > wheel > of specific type or position cartwheelc1386 truckle1459 trundle1564 clog-wheel1575 trindle1594 coach-wheel1647 roulette1659 roller1763 horizontal wheel1794 castora1800 castor-wheel1805 artillery wheel1834 training wheel1848 trailing wheel1850 spider-wheel1868 front wheel1878 trailer1884 trendle1887 wire wheel1907 square wheels1924 jockey-wheel1952 1878 Design & Work 4 218/1 52 in. Wolverhampton..with lamp and pouch, front wheel brake. 1897¹Front wheel [see Compounds 1a]. 1900 Captain 3 463/2 Gamage's Holborn front wheel rim brake. 1902 W. W. Beaumont in A. C. Harmsworth et al. Motors & Motor-driving (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) x. 218 The automobilist should frequently jack up the front of his car so that the front wheels are free of the ground. 1904 G. F. Goodchild & C. F. Tweney Technol. & Sci. Dict. 147/2 The front wheel brake usually carries two blocks on a horseshoe-shaped clip. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 3 Nov. 4/1 The Allen-Liversidge system of front-wheel braking. 1928 Daily Mail 13 Aug. 12/6 Will the new principle of front wheel drive prove a success? 1968 N. Fleming Counter Paradise iii. 42 ‘Great heap,’ Jake grinned... ‘Yes..and it's got front-wheel drive.’ 1971 Guardian 18 Feb. 2/6 The Renault 17..is a front-wheel drive model. front-wise adv. in a position or direction facing to the front. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > front > [adverb] aforeOE forneOE beforeOE aforewarda1200 afornonc1275 toforec1330 onwardc1385 bifornysc1420 forouth1487 ahead1568 afrontc1570 forwardly1578 anteriorly1598 foremostly1607 devant1609 forward1619 forward on1630 front-wise1774 vanward1827 out front1934 upfront1937 the world > space > direction > specific directions > [adverb] > in forward direction beforeOE forwarda1535 ahead1596 front-wise1774 vanward1827 frontward1865 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VII. 216 It [sc. Venomous Serpent] has..a mark of dark brown on the forehead; which, when viewed frontwise, looks like a pair of spectacles. 1885 J. H. Middleton in Encycl. Brit. XIX. 612/1 Though the faces are nearly always represented in profile, the eyes are shown frontwise. Draft additions March 2006 front bottom n. British colloquial (euphemistic, esp. in speech to or by children) the female external genitals, the vulva; cf. front bum n. at Additions. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] cuntc1230 quivera1382 chosec1386 privy chosea1387 quoniamc1405 naturec1470 shell1497 box1541 water gate1541 mouth1568 quiver case1568 water gap1586 cunnya1593 medlar1597 mark1598 buggle-boo1600 malkin1602 lap1607 skin coat1611 quim1613 nest1614 watermilla1626 bum1655 merkin1656 twat1656 notch1659 commodity1660 modicum1660 crinkum-crankum1670 honeypot1673 honour1688 muff1699 pussy1699 puss1707 fud1771 jock1790 cock?1833 fanny?1835 vaginac1890 rug1893 money-maker1896 Berkeley1899 Berkeley Hunt1899 twitchet1899 mingea1903 snatch1904 beaver1927 coozie1934 Sir Berkeley1937 pocketbook1942 pranny1949 zatch1950 cooch1955 bearded clam1962 noonie1966 chuff1967 coozea1968 carpet1981 pum-pum1983 front bum1985 coochie1986 punani1987 front bottom1991 va-jay-jay2000 the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > vulva vulva?a1425 wombgatec1450 nock1611 nonny-nonny1611 slit1648 old hat1697 concha1855 monkey1863 gash1873 slot1942 vag1967 mickey1969 front bum1985 punani1987 front bottom1991 1991 More Things to do with Flies in talk.politics.mideast (Usenet newsgroup) 25 Jan. Then I could put my baby-making-part into your front-bottom. 2000 R. Topping Kevin & Perry go Large i. 2 Tis such a waste of my lovely woman's body. I've got years of shagging left in me. Why chop off my head when thou could lift up my dress and look at my front bottom? Draft additions March 2006 front bum n. colloquial (euphemistic) = front bottom n. at Additions. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] cuntc1230 quivera1382 chosec1386 privy chosea1387 quoniamc1405 naturec1470 shell1497 box1541 water gate1541 mouth1568 quiver case1568 water gap1586 cunnya1593 medlar1597 mark1598 buggle-boo1600 malkin1602 lap1607 skin coat1611 quim1613 nest1614 watermilla1626 bum1655 merkin1656 twat1656 notch1659 commodity1660 modicum1660 crinkum-crankum1670 honeypot1673 honour1688 muff1699 pussy1699 puss1707 fud1771 jock1790 cock?1833 fanny?1835 vaginac1890 rug1893 money-maker1896 Berkeley1899 Berkeley Hunt1899 twitchet1899 mingea1903 snatch1904 beaver1927 coozie1934 Sir Berkeley1937 pocketbook1942 pranny1949 zatch1950 cooch1955 bearded clam1962 noonie1966 chuff1967 coozea1968 carpet1981 pum-pum1983 front bum1985 coochie1986 punani1987 front bottom1991 va-jay-jay2000 the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > vulva vulva?a1425 wombgatec1450 nock1611 nonny-nonny1611 slit1648 old hat1697 concha1855 monkey1863 gash1873 slot1942 vag1967 mickey1969 front bum1985 punani1987 front bottom1991 1985 B. McConville & J. Shearlaw Slanguage of Sex 111/1 Front bum, the vagina. Male Irish usage. Intended as jokey and innocuous, but somewhat disturbing in its denial of the nature—and even the existence—of the female part. 1999 Pi Mag. (Univ. Coll. London Union) Feb. 17/2 It's a great shame Chicks were still having their nappies changed when L7 were causing riots flashing their—erm–‘front bums’ on The Word. Draft additions March 2009 front crawl n. Swimming = crawl n.¹ c. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > movement in or on water > [noun] > swimming > stroke > specific hand over hand1844 sidestroke1852 breast swimming1861 steamer1861 breaststroke1864 dog paddle1874 backstroke1876 trudgen1893 frog kick1896 overstroke1902 scissors kick1902 crawl1903 scissors1908 freestyle1916 doggy paddle1921 front crawl1924 back-crawl1929 butterfly stroke1934 butterfly1936 butterfly kick1937 1924 G. H. Corsan Diving & Swimming Bk. p. xv Head-on view of the front crawl. 2008 Gloucestershire Echo (Nexis) 29 Sept. 9 Six years ago Margaret didn't know how to do a front crawl, but her determination to get fit saw her turn to swimming. Draft additions June 2015 front nine n. Golf the first nine holes on an eighteen-hole course; the first half of an eighteen-hole round. ΚΠ 1923 Republican-Courier (Findlay, Ohio) 1 Sept. b2/2 Green..played the front-nine in six-under-par 29 but cooled off with a 34 coming home. 1977 Times 18 June (Sports section) 6/8 John Miller..picked up two shots on the front nine. 2006 Today's Golfer May 164/1 Our bedraggled fourball battled through lashing rain on the front nine and a gale on the back nine. Draft additions September 2018 front projection n. Cinematography projection from the viewer's side of the screen; (also) a special effects technique in which background footage is projected via a two-way mirror between the camera and the actors onto a screen behind them; frequently in contrast to back projection n. at back- comb. form 2; see also rear projection n. at rear adj.² and n.² Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > projection > [noun] projection1687 screen image1876 show1897 front projection1910 rear projection1913 back projection1933 projecting1959 1910 Moving Picture World 17 Sept. 634/1 No difference in the lenses for front or back projection. 1951 Sponsor 24 Sept. 64/2 New technical devices, such as improved versions of rear-projection screens, front-projection, and other optical devices to do away with expensive scenery are coming into their own. 2001 Total DVD Feb. 114/2 Matte painting, front projection and rotoscoping were used to put people into unreal environments. 2005 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 12 Nov. 45 Kate recognised a gap in the market for a profitable business specialising in front projection systems for the home cinema market. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online June 2022). frontv.¹ Brit. /frʌnt/, U.S. /frənt/ Etymology: < Old French front-er in same sense, < front front n.; it may however in some uses be an independent formation on the English noun. 1. a. intransitive. To have the front in a specified direction; to face, look. Const. on, to, towards, upon. ΘΚΠ the world > space > direction > direct [verb (transitive)] > face a direction front1523 prospect1555 face1567 behold1593 head1610 frontage1914 the world > space > direction > specific directions > have specific directions [verb (intransitive)] > have front in specific direction front1523 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. li. 73 The french king..purueyed suffyciently for all the forteresses frontyng on Flanders. 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iii. 60 Tarent..to which heunlye Lacinia fronteth. 1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 297 A countrey..fronts upon another Nation. a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) 141 Having a few small Rooms fronting outward. 1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting II. ii. 48 This room was erected..fronting westward to the privy-garden. 1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 40 Philip's dwelling fronted on the street. 1894 H. Caine Manxman iii. 134 The rooms fronted to Athol Street. †b. transitive. To set the front of (a building) in a specified direction. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > space > direction > specific directions > direct in specific directions [verb (transitive)] > set front in specific direction front1665 society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > [verb (transitive)] > set front towards front1665 1665 J. Webb Vindic. Stone-Heng (1725) 105 Temples..should be so fronted, as that Travellers passing by might behold them. a1817 T. Dwight Trav. New-Eng. & N.-Y. (1821) II. 97 Mr. Geyer has erected a large elegant mansion, fronted towards the river. 2. transitive. a. To have the front towards; to ‘face’, stand opposite to. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > opposite position > be opposite (something) [verb (transitive)] > face (of things) face1567 affront1575 frontier1579 regard1585 front1609 confront1610 to stand to ——1632 outfront1883 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. iii. 117 Like a gate of steele: Fronting the Sunne. View more context for this quotation 1696 tr. J. Dumont New Voy. Levant 2 All the Houses..which fronted the Bishop's Palace. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. v. v. 145 This enclosed Place exactly fronted the Foot of the Bed. View more context for this quotation 1823 F. Clissold Narr. Ascent Mont Blanc 11 Fronting us, rose the summit of Mont Blanc. 1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 109 The perspective picture which fronts the title-page represents a cotton factory. b. Of a building: To have its front on the side of (a street, etc.). ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > [verb (transitive)] > face towards front1698 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 38 Opposite to this, one [Gate] more stately fronts the High-street. 1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 91 This Alcove fronts the longest Gravel Walk in the Garden. 1833 Act 3 & 4 William IV c. 46 §90 The proprietor or proprietors of any buildings fronting any of the streets. 1847 A. M. Gilliam Trav. Mexico (new ed.) 166 The church..was to have fronted the Plaza. 3. a. To stand face to face with, meet face to face, look straight at, face, confront; esp. to face in defiance or hostility, present a bold front to, oppose. literal and figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > opposite position > be opposite (something) [verb (transitive)] > be face to face with confrontc1568 front1582 to face (a person) with1583 face1632 over-front1644 the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > oppose [verb (transitive)] > confront abidec1275 stand?1316 visagec1386 bidec1400 to stand to ——1562 affront1569 to look (a person, etc.) in the face1573 outface1574 front1582 to meet with1585 confront1594 propose1594 to stand up to1596 outfront1631 to stand forth to1631 head1682 meet1725 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 32 Of Greeks thee first man with a gallant coompanye garded Fronted vs. a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 82 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) He dare now front Princes. a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) i. iii. 53 Front her, boord her, woe her, assayle her. View more context for this quotation a1640 J. Fletcher et al. Queene of Corinth iv. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Cccccc/1 Amaz'd..at your..impudence, That dare thus front us. 1697 J. Dryden Disc. Epick Poetry D 4 When Æneas and Turnus stood fronting each other before the altar. 1701 W. Wotton Hist. Rome iv. 65 Some fell upon the Rear, some fronted them directly. 1837 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 16 Oct. in Amer. Notebks. (1972) iii. 164 Here you fronted the ocean, looking at a sail. 1839 T. Carlyle Chartism x. 98 Evil, once manfully fronted, ceases to be evil. 1852 F. W. Robertson Serm. 3rd Ser. xvii. 222 Soldiers can be hired..to front death in its worst form. 1864 J. F. Kirk Hist. Charles the Bold (U.S. ed.) I. i. 22 The brazen pride with which he fronted accusation and reproach. b. said of things. ΚΠ 1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 265 Would God such things..never had fronted our native shores! a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) ii. ii. 65 Those Warres Which fronted mine owne peace. View more context for this quotation 1637 T. Heywood Royall King ii. ii. sig. D^v I am arm'd with innocence, And that dares front all danger. 1873 W. Black Princess of Thule i. 14 At length, the boat..fronted the broad waters of the Atlantic. 4. To set face to face with, confront with. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > opposite position > be opposite (something) [verb (transitive)] > place facing address1483 to face (a person) with1583 front1617 confront1627 the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > oppose [verb (transitive)] > confront > bring face to face with front1617 confront1627 1617 S. Collins Epphata to F. T. ii. ix. 351 The Cardinall had fronted him with one such false place out of Chrysostome. 1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 87 Which kinde of Persons, are..to be fronted, with some other, of the same Party, that may oppose them. 1853 F. W. Robertson Serm. 3rd Ser. xxi. 275 Fronting his patron and his prince with the stern unpalatable truth of God. 5. To adorn in front; to furnish with a front. (So in combination new-front.) Also, to face (with some specified material); = face v. 8. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautify [verb (transitive)] > ornament > in front front1635 society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > other elements > [verb (transitive)] > furnish with front front1635 1635 W. Davenant Triumphs Prince d'Amour 3 The Scene was discovered with a Village consisting of Alehouses and Tobacco shops, each fronted with a red Lettice. 1742 W. Cole in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) I. 228 They have..new Fronted the east front. 1772 J. G. W. De Brahm Hist. Georgia (1849) 45 The Savannah Bay is nearly fronted with contiguous Wharfs. 1780 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting (ed. 2) IV. vi. 109 He new fronted his house in Piccadilly. 1782 W. Cowper Let. 6 Sept. (1981) II. 76 My Green house..is fronted with Myrtles and lined with matts. a1817 T. Dwight Trav. New-Eng. & N.-Y. (1821) II. 31 The Presbyterian church..is fronted with two towers. 1824 Ann. Reg. 87 The whole building was proposed to be fronted with stone. †6. a. To introduce (a tale, etc.) with (the mention of or reference to something); to preface. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > speak, say, or utter [verb (transitive)] > introduce > with or by something front1592 premise1823 society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > parts of a written composition > write parts of composition [verb (transitive)] > introduce or furnish with prologue prefix1538 front1592 preface1603 preamble1628 perfixa1659 prologue1701 proema1716 prologize1779 premise1823 1592 R. Greene Thirde Pt. Conny-catching sig. B3^v The wily Treacher..coyned such a smooth tale vnto them both, fronting it with the Gammon of Bacon and the Cheese sent from their maides Father. 1599 Master Broughtons Lett. Answered v. 15 You..haue fronted your Libell with this inscription. 1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 109 Hippocrates did wel to front his Axiomaticall Experiments..with the grand Miscariages in the practice of Physitians. a1732 T. Boston Crook in Lot (1805) 73 Solomon..fronts his writings, in the beginning of the Proverbs, with most express gospel. b. To place in front as a frontispiece. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > communication > book > leaves or pages of book > [verb (transitive)] > furnish with frontispiece front1609 frontispiece1715 1609 Bp. W. Barlow Answer Catholike English-man 305 Pindarus would haue in the beginning of a Treatise..some glorious personage fronted. 7. a. To be or stand in front of, to serve as a front to. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > front > be in front of [verb (transitive)] forstanda1000 front1591 prologue1762 antecede1822 1591 E. Spenser tr. J. du Bellay Visions in Complaints ii I saw a stately frame..With hundreth pillours fronting faire the same. 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. vii. 102 Yonder walls that pertly front your towne..Must kisse their owne feete. View more context for this quotation 1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. v. 160 She came to the lawn which fronted the fabric. 1825 M. M. Sherwood Lady of Manor (ed. 2) II. x. 118 A..mansion..fronted by a garden abounding with fruits and flowers. 1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. xvi. 361 The coast..is fronted by many breakers. 1884 Law Times Rep. 51 228/1 The damage done to the sea wall fronting Curry Marsh Farm. b. To serve as a ‘front’ (see front n. 7g). slang (originally U.S.). ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > means of concealment > conceal by disguise [verb (transitive)] > something illegal front1932 1932 J. Sayre Rackety Rax vii. 55 You'll have to front for us, knowin' the collegiate racket and all. 1939 R. Chandler Big Sleep xxvi. 232 Why should I front for that twist? 1939 Nation 5 Aug. 134/2 America, accusing us of ‘fronting’ for the Semites and Communists. 1951 Manch. Guardian Weekly 1 Mar. 3 Mr. Churchill agreed to ‘front’ for the quick pride of the Royal Navy. 1959 ‘M. Ainsworth’ Murder is Catching vii. 90 Was he merely doing his job..? Or was he fronting for Pender? 1971 N. Freeling Over High Side i. 41 To..help him out occasionally I have fronted for him—a telephone call. And I'm bound to say he helped me. c. To lead (a band). Also intransitive. Originally U.S. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > conducting > conduct [verb (transitive)] > lead band lead1849 front1936 1936 C. L. Cons Jargon of Jazz in Amer. Mercury May p. x/2 Baton weaver, the joe personality who fronts the band. 1937 Amer. Speech 12 46/2 Ted is fronting for Smith's old band. 1946 P. Fischer in Jazzways 48/2 Hampton was with the Les Hite Orchestra, occasionally ‘fronted’ by Louis Armstrong. 1949 L. Feather Inside Be-bop iii. 26 Coleman Hawkins, who was fronting Clarke's band, copyrighted the tune. 1958 P. Gammond Decca Bk. Jazz x. 128 The remnants of Isham Jones's Orchestra were taken over..by Woody Herman, a clarinet player with a taste for jazz and a talent for fronting a band. 8. Chiefly Military. †a. intransitive. To march in the front or first rank. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > form or reform [verb (intransitive)] > fall into line > be in front line or rank front1623 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII i. ii. 43 I..front but in that File Where others tell steps with me. View more context for this quotation b. To turn the front or face in a specified direction; = face v. 13a. Also, as word of command. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military operations > evolution > [verb (intransitive)] > other evolutions front1635 ploy1836 pivot1841 about-face1863 1635 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Donzella Desterrada 122 Upon this the third fronting to their flanckward spurr'd towards him. 1833 Regulations Instr. Cavalry i. i. 14 Upon the word Front, if he has faced to the right, he fronts to the left. 1847 Infantry Man. (1854) 5 Upon the word Front, if he has faced to the right, he fronts to the left. c. To form a front or extended line. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > form or reform [verb (intransitive)] > spread out or extend line deploy1796 front1802 1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. (at cited word) When the battalion is marching by files..the word front is always practised to restore it to its natural situation in line. 1807 Z. M. Pike Acct. Exped. Sources Mississippi (1810) iii. 258 The Spanish troops..were remarkably polite, always fronting and saluting when I passed. 1883 Army Corps Orders in Standard 22 Mar. 3/2 It will halt, front, and march past. d. to front about: to turn round so as to face in another direction. ΘΚΠ the world > space > direction > point or lie in a direction [verb (intransitive)] > turn round or to face a direction turnc1330 convertc1384 to bear one's (also the, a) face (also head)c1400 beturn1594 swerve1607 face1623 orientate1848 to front about1886 orient1896 1886 R. L. Stevenson Strange Case Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde 23 Mr. Hyde..fronted about with an air of defiance. e. transitive (causatively, from front! as a word of command): To cause to form a front or line. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > [verb (transitive)] > draw up (troops) > in extended formation display1591 deploy1786 front1796 society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > form (line, column, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > spread out or extend line deploy1786 front1796 1796 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry 102 He then Halts, fronts! it, and dresses and closes it to its pivot marker on the line. 1832 Proposed Regulations Cavalry ii. 14 In the movement of Threes to a flank, the squadron should occupy but little more ground than when fronted. 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 25 Each company in succession will be halted, and fronted. †9. (See quot. 1530) Obsolete. ΚΠ 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 559/1 I fronte up, as a woman dothe the heare of her heed with a fyllet. Je effronte. I wene you be bydden to some bridale to daye, you be so well fronted up. 10. Scottish and dialect. (See quots.) ΚΠ 1808–18 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. To front, applied to meat, when it swells in boiling. 1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire Front, of tender meat which swells in cooking; of meal which swells under boiling water; of the full feeling supervening after a hearty meal, etc. 11. Phonetics. To pronounce with the tongue in a front position, i.e. touching or raised towards the hard palate; to palatalize. Also intransitive. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by place or organ > [verb (intransitive)] > position of tongue front1888 the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by place or organ > [verb (transitive)] > lingual > position of tongue front1888 retract1890 1888 H. Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds (new ed.) 36 The fronting is carried out most fully with the point nasals and stops. 1888 H. Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds (new ed.) 36 These fronted consonants again in their turn influence a preceding sound. 1888 H. Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds (new ed.) 37 [This sound] fronts the preceding ʃ. 1907 H. C. Wyld Hist. Study Mother Tongue viii. 160 A natural inference is that..e being a front vowel, fronted the preceding consonant. 1929 Encycl. Brit. I. 1/2 These [changes] are due to fronting..or to rounding. 1939 Trans. Philol. Soc. 1939 89 In OE, Germ a appears as æ. Some dialects have e, but..the fronting first produced æ. 1964 Language 40 31 Perhaps we can see a reason why /a/ should front. Draft additions 1993 d. To act as the presenter or host of (a television programme or other broadcast); = compère v. ΘΚΠ society > communication > broadcasting > broadcaster > [verb (transitive)] front1978 commentate1979 voice-over1983 1978 Daily Tel. 3 July 2/2 Bruce Forsyth has signed a contract with London Weekend Television to front a series of 12 weekly light entertainment shows. 1982 M. Kington Miles & Miles 132 I'm doing a..13-part TV series... I think I'll get Frank Muir to front it. 1984 National Times (Austral.) 2 Nov. 29/2 He will be fronting the show and performing most of the main roles. 1989 N.Y. Times 1 Jan. ii. 29/4 A vehicle designed for the comedienne Joan Rivers, the program was fronted by a bewildering succession of guest hosts after Ms. Rivers was dropped. Draft additions March 2009 transitive. colloquial (originally U.S.) To provide (money or goods) in advance, with the expectation of future repayment or advantage. Also with up. Cf. upfront adv. b. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > paying (money) for labour or service > pay (a person) for labour or service [verb (transitive)] > pay in advance > pay (money) in advance imprest1565 impressa1684 front1966 1966 R. Siragusa Trail of Poppy 21 Remember telling me last year how you fronted five grand for some rubies? 1977 Washington Post 13 Jan. dc3/6 Alan Glen, a financier, ‘fronted’ much of the construction money. 1990 Toronto Star (Nexis) 24 Nov. (Weekend section) g15 It may not matter very much if Sports Illustrated fronts up money for charity to persuade major-league baseball players to allow a journalist to pitch to them and write about the experience. 1997 D. Simon & E. Burns Corner 144 He had fronted Boo forty vials, for which Boo owed him two hundred dollars. 2000 T. Robbins Fierce Invalids 12 Company recruited a very promising young dude down there.., fronted him a new Honda as a signing bonus. Draft additions September 2021 transitive. Grammar. To place (a word, phrase, etc.) at the beginning of a sentence or clause, often in order to achieve a particular effect; to move (a word, phrase, etc.) to such a position. Cf. fronted adj. Additions, fronting n. Additions. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic relations > have syntactic relation with [verb (transitive)] > transform > specific rankshift1964 extrapose1965 front1968 1968 R. S. Jackendoff Interpretive Theory Pronouns & Reflexives 13 NP² is fronted on the S¹ cycle by the question transformation. 1992 M. Baker In Other Words v. 134 Fronting the object..foregrounds it and gives it local prominence (cf... A great deal of publicity the book received in China). 2006 E. Kaiser in V. Molnár & S. Winkler Archit. Focus 273 Finnish negation can be fronted to a sentence-initial position from its usual post-subject slot. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online September 2021). † frontv.² Forms: In Middle English frunt, past tense frunt. Etymology: < Old French fronter to ill-treat. Obsolete. 1. transitive. To strike, kick, drive back. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > backward movement > cause to move back [verb (transitive)] > force backwards frontc1400 disadvancea1413 rechasea1533 retrude1598 recompel1624 retund1647 the world > movement > impact > striking > strike [verb (transitive)] > specific animate object drepeOE smitec1200 buffet?c1225 strike1377 rapa1400 seta1400 frontc1400 ballc1450 throw1488 to bear (a person) a blow1530 fetch1556 douse1559 knetcha1564 slat1577 to hit any one a blow1597 wherret1599 alapate1609 shock1614 baske1642 measure1652 plump1785 jow1802 nobble1841 scuff1841 clump1864 bust1873 plonk1874 to sock it to1877 dot1881 biff1888 dong1889 slosh1890 to soak it to1892 to cop (a person) one1898 poke1906 to hang one on1908 bop1931 clonk1949 the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > with the foot > kick smitec1330 frontc1400 punch1449 kick1598 calcitrate1623 bunch1647 pause1673 pote1673 purr1847 boot1877 turf1888 root1890 c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 187 Þe freke hym frunt with his fot. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 6923 He..frunt hym in þe fase a full fel wond. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 8327 Polidamas..ffaght with hom felly, frunt hom abacke. 2. intransitive. a. To rush, make a rush. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > attack > charge > [verb (intransitive)] to-resea1225 reamc1275 shovec1400 frontc1540 chargea1616 storm1632 c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 6887 Þe freke, with a felle spere frunt vnto Ector. b. To fall plump. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > fall [verb (intransitive)] > fall down or from erect position > specifically of person or animal > fall flat or prostrate streeka1325 platc1330 sleta1400 frontc1540 to measure (out) one's lengthc1580 c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 6890 He frunt of hys fol flat to þe ground. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online March 2021). < n.adj.c1290v.¹1523v.²c1400
随便看	θ27765 θ27766 θ27767 θ27768 θ27769 θ2777 θ27770 θ27771 θ27772 θ27773 θ27774 θ27775 θ27776 θ27777 θ27778 θ27779 θ2778 θ27780 θ27781 θ27782 θ27783 θ27784 θ27785 θ27786 θ27787

frontn.adj.

Compounds

Draft additions March 2006

Draft additions March 2006

Draft additions March 2009

Draft additions June 2015

Draft additions September 2018

frontv.1

Draft additions 1993

Draft additions March 2009

Draft additions September 2021

† frontv.2

frontv.¹

† frontv.²