English → Latin
“front” in Latin
frōnsthe forehead, brow, front; the brow or countenance as an indicator of the feelings; as the mirror of a person's characteōsmouth; (in general) head or face; (in general) facial features, countenance, appearancecaputthe head (of humans and animals); head; top; summit; point; end; extremity (beginning or end); origin; source; spring; hresistōto stand back, remain standing somewhere; stand still, halt, stop, stay; remain, continue; to rise or stand up again; toantīquusold, ancient; aged; time-honoured, bygonepriuspreviously; beforeadversusfacing, opposite; towards; againstpostīcusback, rear, posterior
The English word front itself goes back to Latin frōns.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
front s.
frons (in all the meanings of the English word; in font, a fronte [military technical term; opposed to a tergo, a latere] intervalla trabium in fronte saxis effarcire, Caes.; cohortes in fronte constituere, Suet.; ante frontem castrorum copias struere, Caes.; ante frontem aedium, Vitr.): pars antica (opposed to pars postica): pars prior (e.g., capitis, Plin., opposed to pars aversa): In font of the camp, ante frontem castrorum; ante castra; pro castris: to present their font to the enemy, in hostem obverti (Curt., 4, 15, 21). Wounds received in font, vulnera adversa (so cicatrices adversae). The font of a building, frons.
Face, impudence, os (e.g., durum, ferreum, etc.): frons (e.g., inverecunda, Quint.; proterva, Hor.).
front v.
To stand opposite to, *exadversus aliquem stare (of persons): contra aliquid esse or positum esse: ex adverso positum esse (general terms of things): ex adverso constitutum esse (to be placed or drawn up in font of; e.g., of ships; also, classes ex adverso stant, Suet., Just.). To font the street [Vid: To FACE].
To face boldly, to oppose, alicui obsistere, resistere.
front
as adjective, anticus (opposed to what is in the back part, posticus): prior (opposed to posterior; e.g., the font legs, priores pedes): adversus (what is opposite to us; opposed to aversus, what is turned from us). Font teeth [Vid: TOOTH]. The font ranks, primi ordines.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for front?
- The usual Latin words for “front” are frōns, ōs, caput; also resistō, antīquus, prius. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.