fronting
|front-ing|
/ˈfrʌn.tɪŋ/
(front)
foremost part
Etymology
'front' originates from Old French 'front', ultimately from Latin 'frons' meaning 'forehead, front'.
'front' passed from Latin 'frons' into Old French as 'front' and then into Middle English as 'front'; the verbal noun/fronting is formed in modern English from the verb 'front'.
Initially related to the physical 'forehead' or 'fore part', the sense broadened to mean the 'fore part' or 'face' of something and then the verb sense 'to face or place in front' and figurative senses such as 'to act as a cover' developed; 'fronting' now carries both literal (placing in front) and figurative (acting as a façade) senses.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the act of placing something at the front or in a forward position.
The fronting of the new displays increased customer interest.
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Noun 2
a deceptive arrangement in which someone or something serves as a façade or cover (a 'front') for another person or activity.
The company was investigated for fronting illegal operations through a shell firm; this kind of fronting is illegal.
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Noun 3
in linguistics, the movement of an element (word or phrase) to the front of a clause for emphasis or syntactic reasons (e.g., topicalization).
Fronting of the object is common in spoken English to give emphasis: 'That book, I haven't read.' is an example of fronting.
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Verb 1
present participle/gerund form of 'front': acting as the face of something, putting something at the front, or providing a façade for another party.
He was fronting the project while the real investors stayed hidden.
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Last updated: 2025/12/18 00:23