Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “frontier” come from?

Frontier comes from Middle English frounter, from Old French fronter, from Latin frons meaning forehead or front, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰren-.

frontier (English): The part of a country which borders or faces...

Definitions

  1. The part of a country which borders or faces...

Ancestry of “frontier”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishfrounterA frontier or borderland; A fort located upon the...
2Old Frenchfronter—
3Old Frenchfrontforehead; front
4Latinfrōns—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰron-t-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰren-project; to project; to stand out; to project;...

Words derived from “frontier”

  • frontiersman
  • transfrontier
  • frontierswoman
  • frontierman
  • frontierless
  • frontierlike
  • frontiered
  • frontiersmanship
  • nonfrontier
  • cyberfrontier
  • frontierwoman
  • e-frontier
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰren- →