Word: front Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English front, frunt, frount, from Old French front, frunt, from Latin frōns, frontem (“forehead”). Doublet of frons. Pronunciation: /fɹʌnt/, /fɹɐnt/, /fɹʊnt/ 1. To face (on, to); to be pointed in a given direction. Labels: dated, intransitive Example: The great gate fronting to the north was about four feet high, and almost two feet wide, through which I could easily creep. Example: The door fronted on a narrow run, like a footbridge over a gully, that filled the gap between the house wall and the edge of the bank. 2. To face, be opposite to. Labels: transitive Example: After saluting her, he led her to a couch that fronted us, where they both sat down, and the young Genoese helped her to a glass of wine, with some Naples biscuit on a salver. Example: […]down they ran into the dining-room, which fronted the lane, in quest of this wonder; it was two ladies stopping in a low phaeton at the garden gate. 3. To face up to, to meet head-on, to confront. Labels: transitive Example: Know you not Gaueston hath store of golde, Which may in Ireland purchase him such friends, As he will front the mightiest of vs all, Example: What well-appointed leader fronts us here? 4. To adorn with, at the front; to put on the front. Labels: transitive Example: Three tiers of balconies fronted with roped columns supporting arched openings looked down on the marble hall. 5. To pronounce with the tongue in a front position. Labels: intransitive, transitive Example: The velar plosives are often fronted through the influence of a following front vowel, and retracted through the influence of a following back vowel. Example: Finally, the pretonic -e- of this *tsengòrra would have been fronted, yielding *tsingòrra. 6. To move (a word or clause) to the start of a sentence (or series of adjectives, etc). Labels: transitive Example: […] in the clause, only the adjective may be fronted; but if both a past participle and a verbal particle are present, either may be fronted. Topicalization, in which maximal projections are fronted to express pragmatics such as contrast, emphasis, ... Example: A problem facing any syntactic analysis of hyperbaton is that nonconstituent strings are fronted […] In cases where the adjective is fronted with the determiner, the determiner is not doubled […] 7. To act as a front (for); to cover (for). Labels: intransitive, slang Example: Everybody knew Skopas fronted for the fight mob even though he was officially the arena manager. 8. To lead or be the spokesperson of (a campaign, organisation etc.). Labels: transitive Example: Ray Winstone is fronting a campaign for the Football Association that aims to stop pushy parents shouting abuse at their children during the grassroots football season. 9. Of an alter in a person with multiplicity (especially in dissociative identity disorder): to be the currently actively presenting member of (a system), in control of the person's body. Labels: ambitransitive Example: Fronting can be understood as a representation of who controls the system, that is, the person to whom you are speaking. Emilia was typically the person fronting her system. 10. To provide money or financial assistance in advance to. Labels: colloquial, transitive Example: I'm prepared to say that I fronted you the money for a business deal with me, and the investment paid off brilliantly. 11. To assume false or disingenuous appearances. Labels: intransitive, slang Example: So when I tell people where I'm from and check their reactions, I know in my heart I'm just frontin’. Because the way and where I lived then pales when compared to the way and where many youths are living today. Example: What's with these homies dissin' my girl? / Why do they gotta front? 12. To deceive or attempt to deceive someone with false or disingenuous appearances (on). Labels: slang, transitive Example: You think that you can front when revelation comes? / You can't front on that 13. To appear before. Labels: transitive Example: to front court 14. To act cocky, disrespectful and aggressive; to confront (someone). Labels: intransitive, slang, transitive