'waterfront' originates from the combination of 'water' and 'front', where 'water' refers to a body of water and 'front' indicates the part of something that faces forward.

'waterfront' has been used in English since the 19th century to describe areas adjacent to water bodies.

Initially, it meant 'the front part of a water body', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'the area of a city or town next to a body of water'.