Fore and aft

[fawr-uhnd-aft, -ahft, fohr-] Origin

fore-and-aft

[fawr-uhnd-aft, -ahft, fohr-] Nautical
adjective
1.
located along or parallel to a line from the stem to the stern.
adverb
2.
fore1 (def. 10).

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Fore and aft is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

Origin:
1610–20
Dictionary.com Unabridged

fore

1[fawr, fohr]
adjective
1.
situated at or toward the front, as compared with something else.
2.
first in place, time, order, rank, etc.; forward; earlier.
3.
Nautical.
a.
of or pertaining to a foremast.
b.
noting a sail, yard, boom, etc., or any rigging belonging to a fore lower mast or to some upper mast of a foremast.
c.
noting any stay running aft and upward to the head of a fore lower mast or to some specified upper mast of a foremast: fore topmast stay.
d.
situated at or toward the bow of a vessel; forward.
adverb
4.
Nautical. at or toward the bow.
6.
Obsolete. before.
noun
7.
the forepart of anything; front.
8.
the fore, Nautical. the foremast.
preposition, conjunction
9.
Also, 'fore. Informal. before.
10.
fore and aft, Nautical. in, at, or to both ends of a ship.
11.
to the fore,
a.
into a conspicuous place or position; to or at the front.
b.
at hand; ready; available.
c.
still alive.

Origin:
by construal of fore- as an adj., hence nominalized; fore and aft perhaps as translation of Dutch or Low German; sense “before” (defs. 6, 9) perhaps continuation of Middle English, Old English fore in this sense, or as aphetic form of afore
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

fore
O.E. fore (prep.) "before, in front of;" (adv.) "before, previously," common Gmc. (cf. O.H.G. fora, O.Fris. fara, Ger. vor, Goth. faiura, O.N. fyrr "for"); from PIE *per-/*pr- (cf. Skt. pura "before, formerly;" Avestan paro "before;" Hittite para- "on, forth;" Gk. paros "before," para "from beside, beyond,"
EXPAND
peri "around, about, toward," pro "before;" L. pro "before, for, on behalf of, instead of," prae "before," per "through, for;" O.C.S. pra-dedu "great-grandfather"). The warning cry in golf is first recorded 1878, probably a contraction of before.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

fore and aft

Both front and back, everywhere, as in The children clung to the teacher fore and aft. This expression is nautical terminology for the bow, or front, and the stern, or back, of a vessel. Today it is also used more broadly. [First half of 1600s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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