*front*

n. [ Cf. F. affront, fr. affronter. ] 1. An encounter either friendly or hostile. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I walked about, admired of all, and dreaded
On hostile ground, none daring my affront. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Contemptuous or rude treatment which excites or justifies resentment; marked disrespect; a purposed indignity; insult. [ 1913 Webster ]

Offering an affront to our understanding. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An offense to one's self-respect; shame. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Affront, Insult, Outrage. An affront is a designed mark of disrespect, usually in the presence of others. An insult is a personal attack either by words or actions, designed to humiliate or degrade. An outrage is an act of extreme and violent insult or abuse. An affront piques and mortifies; an insult irritates and provokes; an outrage wounds and injures. Captious persons construe every innocent freedom into an affront. When people are in a state of animosity, they seek opportunities of offering each other insults. Intoxication or violent passion impels men to the commission of outrages. Crabb. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. affronté, p. p. ] (Her.) Face to face, or front to front; facing. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Shamelessly. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who receives an affront. Lytton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who affronts, or insults to the face. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an affronting manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Tending to affront or offend; offensive; abusive. [ 1913 Webster ]

How affrontive it is to despise mercy. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality that gives an affront or offense. [ R. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ Pref. a- + front. ] In front; face to face. -- prep. In front of. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the line along which opposing armies face each other.
Syn. -- front, front line. [ WordNet 1.5 #here ]

a. [ Pref. bi- + front. ] Having two fronts. “Bifronted Janus.” Massinger. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Confronted; p. pr. & vb. n. Confronting. ] [ F. confronter; L. con- + frons the forehead or front. See Front. ] 1. To stand facing or in front of; to face; esp. to face hostilely; to oppose with firmness. [ 1913 Webster ]

We four, indeed, confronted were with four
In Russian habit. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

He spoke and then confronts the bull. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hester caught hold of Pearl, and drew her forcibly into her arms, confronting the old Puritan magistrate with almost a fierce expression. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

It was impossible at once to confront the might of France and to trample on the liberties of England. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To put face to face; to cause to face or to meet; as, to confront one with the proofs of his wrong doing. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To set in opposition for examination; to put in contrast; to compare. [ 1913 Webster ]

When I confront a medal with a verse, I only show you the same design executed by different hands. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. confrontatio. ] Act of confronting. H. Swinburne. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ F., p. p. confronter. ] (Her.) Same as Affronté. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who confronts. [ 1913 Webster ]

A confronter in authority. Speed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of confronting; the state of being face to face. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of confronting; the state of being face to face. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To give assurance to. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Effronteries [ F. effronterie, fr. effronté shameless, fr. L. effrons, -ontis, putting forth the forehead, i. e., barefaced, shameless; ex + frons the forehead. See Front. ] Impudence or boldness in confronting or in transgressing the bounds of duty or decorum; insulting presumptuousness; shameless boldness; barefaced assurance. [ 1913 Webster ]

Corruption lost nothing of its effrontery. Bancroft.

Syn. -- Impudence; sauciness. See Impudence. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. effronté. ] Marked by impudence. [ Obs. ] Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Impudently. [ Obs. ] R. North. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Foremost part or place. [ 1913 Webster ]

Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle. 2 Sam. xi. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, standing in the forefront for all time, the masters of those who know. J. C. Shairp. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. frant forehead, L. frons, frontis; perh. akin to E. brow. ] 1. The forehead or brow, the part of the face above the eyes; sometimes, also, the whole face. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bless'd with his father's front, his mother's tongue. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

Grim-visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

His front yet threatens, and his frowns command. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The forehead, countenance, or personal presence, as expressive of character or temper, and especially, of boldness of disposition, sometimes of impudence; seeming; as, a bold front; a hardened front; hence, an attitude and demeanor intended to represent one's feelings, even if not actually felt; as, to put on a good front. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

With smiling fronts encountering. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The inhabitants showed a bold front. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The part or surface of anything which seems to look out, or to be directed forward; the fore or forward part; the foremost rank; the van; -- the opposite to back or rear; as, the front of a house; the front of an army. [ 1913 Webster ]

Had he his hurts before?
Ay, on the front. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A position directly before the face of a person, or before the foremost part of a thing; as, in front of un person, of the troops, or of a house. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The most conspicuous part. [ 1913 Webster ]

The very head and front of my offending. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. That which covers the foremost part of the head: a front piece of false hair worn by women. [ 1913 Webster ]

Like any plain Miss Smith's, who wears s front. Mrs. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. The beginning. “Summer's front.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Fort.) All the works along one side of the polygon inclosing the site which is fortified. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

9. (Phon.) The middle of the upper part of the tongue, -- the part of the tongue which is more or less raised toward the palate in the pronunciation of certain sounds, as the vowel i in machine, e in bed, and consonant y in you. See Guide to Pronunciation, §10. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

10. The call boy whose turn it is to answer the call, which is often the word “front, ” used as an exclamation. [ Hotel Cant ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

Bastioned front (Mil.), a curtain connerting two half bastions. --
Front door, the door in the front wall of a building, usually the principal entrance. --
Front of fortification, the works constructed upon any one side of a polygon. Farrow. --
Front of operations, all that part of the field of operations in front of the successive positions occupied by the army as it moves forward. Farrow. --
To come to the front, to attain prominence or leadership. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or relating to the front or forward part; having a position in front; foremost; as, a front view. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Fronted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fronting. ] 1. To oppose face to face; to oppose directly; to meet in a hostile manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

You four shall front them in the narrow lane. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To appear before; to meet. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Enid ] daily fronted him
In some fresh splendor. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To face toward; to have the front toward; to confront; as, the house fronts the street. [ 1913 Webster ]

And then suddenly front the changed reality. J. Morley. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To stand opposed or opposite to, or over against as, his house fronts the church. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To adorn in front; to supply a front to; as, to front a house with marble; to front a head with laurel. [ 1913 Webster ]

Yonder walls, that pertly front your town. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To have or turn the face or front in any direction; as, the house fronts toward the east. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The front part of an edifice or lot; extent of front. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. frontal. ] Belonging to the front part; being in front; esp. (Anat.), Of or pertaining to the forehead or the anterior part of the roof of the brain case; as, the frontal bones. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. frontal, fronteau, OF. Frontel, frontal, L. frontale an ornament for the forehead, frontlet. See Front. ] 1. Something worn on the forehead or face; a frontlet; as: (a) An ornamental band for the hair. (b) (Mil.) The metal face guard of a soldier. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Arch.) A little pediment over a door or window. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Eccl.) A movable, decorative member in metal, carved wood, or, commonly, in rich stuff or in embroidery, covering the front of the altar. Frontals are usually changed according to the different ceremonies. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Med.) A medicament or application for the forehead. [ Obs. ] Quincy. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Anat.) The frontal bone, or one of the two frontal bones, of the cranium. [ 1913 Webster ]

Frontal hammer or
Frontal helve, a forge hammer lifted by a cam, acting upon a “tongue” immediately in front of the hammer head. Raymond.

{ } a. Growing broader and broader, as a leaf; truncate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. any of the front seats in the House of Commons of Great Britain that are reserved for ministers or ex-ministers. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a member of the House of Commons of Great Britain who is a minister or an ex-minister. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Formed with a front; drawn up in line. “Fronted brigades.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. frontière, LL. frontaria. See Front. ] 1. That part of a country which fronts or faces another country or an unsettled region; the marches; the border, confine, or extreme part of a country, bordering on another country; the border of the settled and cultivated part of a country; as, the frontier of civilization. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Fort.) An outwork. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Palisadoes, frontiers, parapets. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Lying on the exterior part; bordering; conterminous; as, a frontier town. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Of or relating to a frontier. “Frontier experience.” W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To constitute or form a frontier; to have a frontier; -- with on. [ Obs. ] Sir W. Temple. [ 1913 Webster ]

p. a. Placed on the frontiers. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Frontiersmen A man living on the frontier.

‖/mhw>, n. [ So called from Frontignan, a town in Southern France. ] 1. A sweet muscadine wine made in Frontignan (Languedoc), France. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) A grape of many varieties and colors. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a fronting or facing position; opposingly. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Frontignac. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. frontispice, LL. frontispicium beginning, front of a church, fr. L. frons front + spicere, specere, to look at, view: cf. It. frontispizio. See Front and Spy. ] The part which first meets the eye; as: (a) (Arch.) The principal front of a building. [ Obs. or R. ] (b) An ornamental figure or illustration fronting the first page, or titlepage, of a book; formerly, the titlepage itself. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without face or front; shameless; not diffident; impudent. [ Obs. ] “Frontless vice.” Dryden. “Frontless flattery.” Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Shamelessly; impudently. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. frontelet brow band, dim. of frontel, frontal. See Frontal, n. ] 1. A frontal or brow band; a fillet or band worn on the forehead. [ 1913 Webster ]

They shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. Deut. vi. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A frown (likened to a frontlet). [ R. & Poetic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

What makes that frontlet on? Methinks you are too much of late i' the frown. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) The margin of the head, behind the bill of birds, often bearing rigid bristles. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ L. frons, frontis, the forehead. ] (Anat.) A combining form signifying relating to the forehead or the frontal bone; as, fronto-parietal, relating to the frontal and the parietal bones; fronto-nasal, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., a pediment. See Front. ] (Arch.) Same as Frontal, 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a competitor thought to be most likely to win.
Syn. -- favorite, favourite. [ WordNet 1.5 ]