'confronters' originates from French, specifically the word 'confronter', where 'con-' meant 'with' and 'front' (from Latin 'frons') meant 'forehead' or 'face'.

'confronters' changed from Middle English forms (from Old French 'confronter') and ultimately from Latin elements (con- + frons/'frontis'), evolving into modern English via Middle English 'confronten'/'confronten' and the agent noun form 'confronter'.

Initially it referred to bringing faces together or setting people face to face (literally 'with face'), and over time it came to mean opposing or challenging directly; the modern plural refers to people who confront others or confront problems.