fron·tal

[fruhn-tl]
adjective
1.
of, in, or at the front: a frontal view; frontal attack.
2.
Anatomy.
a.
of, pertaining to, or situated near the forehead or the frontal bone.
b.
coronal ( def 4c ).
3.
Meteorology. of or pertaining to the division between dissimilar air masses: frontal zone; frontal surface.
4.
Fine Arts.
a.
exhibiting frontality.
b.
parallel to the surface in the pictorial arts or seen from the front view in sculpture: the frontal plane.
noun
5.
Ecclesiastical. a movable cover or hanging for the front of an altar.
6.
frontlet ( def 1 ).
7.
Anatomy. any of several parts in the frontal region, especially the frontal bone.
00:10
Frontal is always a great word to know.
So is sphenoid. Does it mean:
A bone at the base of the cranium and the root of the nose, containing numerous perforations for the filaments of the olfactory nerve.
compound bone of the base of the cranium of many vertebrates formed by the fusion of bony elements

Origin:
1275–1325; < Late Latin frontālis (Neo-Latin, in anatomy sense); replacing Middle English frountel < Old French frontel. See front, -al1

fron·tal·ly, adverb
in·ter·fron·tal, adjective
sub·fron·tal, adjective
sub·fron·tal·ly, adverb
trans·fron·tal, adjective
trans·fron·tal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To frontal
Collins
World English Dictionary
frontal (ˈfrʌntəl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  of, at, or in the front
2.  of or relating to the forehead: frontal artery
3.  of or relating to the anterior part of a body or organ
4.  meteorol of, relating to, or resulting from a front or its passage: frontal rainfall
 
n
5.  a decorative hanging for the front of an altar
6.  frontal lobe See frontal bone
7.  another name for frontlet
 
[C14 (in the sense: adornment for forehead, altar cloth): via Old French frontel, from Latin frontālia (pl) ornament worn on forehead, frontellum altar cloth, both from frōns forehead, front]
 
'frontally
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

frontal
1650s, of the forehead; 1971 with reference to the naked body; from M.L. frontalis, from front-, stem of frons "brow, forehead." Or in some cases probably from front + adj. suffix -al (1).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

frontal fron·tal (frŭn'tl)
adj.

  1. Of, relating to, directed toward, or situated at the front.

  2. Of or relating to the forehead or frontal bone.

  3. Of or relating to the frontal plane.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
The amateur climber's brain had also suffered subcortical lesions in the
  frontal lobes.
It went though the frontal lobes of his brain and gave him the equivalent of a
  frontal lobotomy.
Parts of the orbital frontal cortex, which is implicated in decision making,
  also light up.
The frontal lobes of the brain are also affected, leading to personality
  changes.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT