frontal

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɹʌn.təl/, /ˈfɹʌn.tl̩/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈfɹʌn.tl̩/, /ˈfɹʌn.l̩/
• Rhymes: -ʌntəl, -ʌnəl

Etymology 1

Borrowed from New Latin frontālis, from frons (“the forehead, brow, front”) +‎ -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix), equivalent to front +‎ -al; cognate of French frontal. Doublet of frontalis.

Adjective

frontal (not comparable)

1. Of, relating to, directed toward, or situated at the front.
   1. Directed against the front or at the main point or issue.

      Synonym: direct

      a frontal attack

2. (anatomy) Of or relating to the forehead or frontal bone.
3. (anatomy) Parallel to the main axis of the body and at right angles to the sagittal plane.
4. (zootomy) Any of the scales of a reptile that lie in the general region of the forehead, more specifically between the eyes and to the anterior of this area.
5. (meteorology) Of or relating to a weather front.

Coordinate terms

• (humorous, about nudity) backal, sidal

Derived terms

• abfrontal
• anterofrontal
• bifrontal
• centrofrontal
• cingulofrontal
• dorsofrontal
• ethmofrontal
• ethmoidofrontal
• frontal artery
• frontal bone
• frontal eminence
• frontality
• frontalization
• frontalize
• frontal lobe
• frontal lobeless
• frontally
• frontalmost
• frontal nerve
• frontal nudity
• frontaloccipital
• frontal plane
• frontal point
• frontal process
• frontal sinus
• frontal wedgie
• fronto-
• frontofrontal
• full-frontal
• hyperfrontal
• hypofrontal
• inferofrontal
• interfrontal
• intrafrontal
• laterofrontal
• mediofrontal
• mesiofrontal
• mesofrontal
• midfrontal
• midorbitofrontal
• multifrontal
• nasofrontal
• occipitofrontal
• orbitofrontal
• palpebrofrontal
• parafrontal
• parietofrontal
• posterofrontal
• postfrontal
• postorbitofrontal
• prefrontal
• sphenofrontal
• striatofrontal
• subfrontal
• superfrontal
• temporofrontal
• ventrofrontal
• zygomaticofrontal

Translations

of or relating to the forehead or frontal bone

• Arabic: أَمَامِيّ (ʔamāmiyy), جَبْهِيّ (jabhiyy)

  Egyptian Arabic: أمامي m (ʔamami)

• Armenian: ճակատային (hy) (čakatayin)
• Belarusian: лабавы́ (labavý)
• Bulgarian: че́лен (bg) (čélen)
• Catalan: frontal (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 額的 / 额的 (zh) (é de)

• Czech: čelní (cs)
• Dutch: frontaal (nl)
• French: frontal (fr)
• German: frontal (de), Stirn- (de)
• Italian: frontale (it)
• Polish: czołowy (pl)
• Portuguese: frontal (pt)
• Russian: ло́бный (ru) (lóbnyj), фронта́льный (ru) (frontálʹnyj), лобово́й (ru) (lobovój)
• Slovak: čelný
• Spanish: frontal (es)
• Tagalog: harapan, pangharap
• Ukrainian: лобови́й (lobovýj), чолови́й (čolovýj)

Noun

frontal (plural frontals)

1. (anatomy) Ellipsis of frontal bone.

Translations

Translations

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 額骨 / 额骨 (zh) (égǔ)

• French: frontal (fr)

Etymology 2

From Middle English frountel, from Old French frontel, from Latin frontāle (“a frontlet, metal band for the forehead”).

Noun

frontal (plural frontals)

2. (Christianity) A decorative drapery covering the front of an altar.

   Synonyms: antependium, forecloth

   • 1969, David G. Irwin, The Visual Arts, Taste and Criticism, page 27:

     Even the mantelpiece is adorned with a totally unfunctional tasselled valance rather like an altar frontal.

3. (architecture) The façade of a building.

Translations

drapery covering the front of an altar

• French: frontal (fr)
• Galician: frontal (gl) m

façade of a building

• Bulgarian: фасада (bg) f (fasada)
• Galician: frontal (gl) m, fachada f

References

• “frontal”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “frontal”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Catalan

Etymology

From front +‎ -al, or borrowed from Medieval Latin frontālis (“frontal”), from Latin frōns.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [fɾunˈtal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [fɾonˈtal]
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

frontal m or f (masculine and feminine plural frontals)

1. frontal

Derived terms

• lòbul frontal

Noun

frontal m (plural frontals)

1. frontal bone

Synonyms

• os frontal

Related terms

• front

Further reading

• “frontal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
• “frontal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “frontal”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

Borrowed from French frontal.

Adjective

frontal

1. frontal

References

• Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎^[1], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

French

Etymology

From front +‎ -al; see also Medieval Latin frontalis, from Latin frōns, as well as fronteau and frontail.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fʁɔ̃.tal/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

frontal (feminine frontale, masculine plural frontaux, feminine plural frontales)

1. (relational) forehead; frontal

Derived terms

• collision frontale
• lobe frontal
• os frontal

Further reading

• “frontal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• frôlant, ronflât

Galician

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese frontal, a learned borrowing from Medieval Latin frontalis (“frontal”), from Latin frons.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɾonˈtal/ [fɾon̪ˈt̪ɑɫ]
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

frontal m or f (plural frontais)

1. frontal

Noun

frontal m (plural frontais)

1. (anatomy) the frontal bone
2. (Christianity) frontal (a decorative drapery covering the front of an altar.)
3. (architecture) frontal (the façade of a building.)

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “frontal”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “frontal”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “frontal”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “frontal”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “frontal”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fʁɔnˈtaːl/
• Rhymes: -aːl

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

frontal (strong nominative masculine singular frontaler, not comparable)

1. frontal

Declension

Positive forms of frontal (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist frontal	sie ist frontal	es ist frontal	sie sind frontal
strong declension (without article)	nominative	frontaler	frontale	frontales	frontale
	genitive	frontalen	frontaler	frontalen	frontaler
	dative	frontalem	frontaler	frontalem	frontalen
	accusative	frontalen	frontale	frontales	frontale
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der frontale	die frontale	das frontale	die frontalen
	genitive	des frontalen	der frontalen	des frontalen	der frontalen
	dative	dem frontalen	der frontalen	dem frontalen	den frontalen
	accusative	den frontalen	die frontale	das frontale	die frontalen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein frontaler	eine frontale	ein frontales	(keine) frontalen
	genitive	eines frontalen	einer frontalen	eines frontalen	(keiner) frontalen
	dative	einem frontalen	einer frontalen	einem frontalen	(keinen) frontalen
	accusative	einen frontalen	eine frontale	ein frontales	(keine) frontalen

Adverb

frontal

1. head-on

Further reading

• “frontal” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “frontal” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon

Portuguese

Etymology

From fronte (“front”) +‎ -al (“of or relating to”), or borrowed from Medieval Latin frontālis (“frontal”), from Latin frōns.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /fɾõˈtaw/ [fɾõˈtaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /fɾõˈtal/ [fɾõˈtaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /fɾõˈtal/ [fɾõˈtaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /fɾõˈta.li/

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: fron‧tal

Adjective

frontal m or f (plural frontais)

1. frontal

   Synonyms: fronteiro, anterior

   Antonyms: traseiro, posterior

Derived terms

• frontalmente

Related terms

• confrontar
• confronto
• defrontar
• defronte
• enfrentar
• frente
• frentear
• frentista
• frontão
• frontaria
• fronte
• frontear
• fronteira
• fronteiriço
• fronteiro
• frontispício

Noun

frontal m (plural frontais)

1. frontal bone

Hypernyms

• osso

Holonyms

• crânio

Coordinate terms

• occipital, parietal, temporal, esfenoide, etmoide

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French frontal.

Adjective

frontal m or n (feminine singular frontală, masculine plural frontali, feminine and neuter plural frontale)

1. frontal

Declension

Declension of frontal

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	frontal		frontală		frontali	frontale
	definite	frontalul		frontala		frontalii	frontalele
genitive- dative	indefinite	frontal		frontale		frontali	frontale
	definite	frontalului		frontalei		frontalilor	frontalelor

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin frontālis (“frontal”), from Latin frōns.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɾonˈtal/ [fɾõn̪ˈt̪al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: fron‧tal

Adjective

frontal m or f (masculine and feminine plural frontales)

1. frontal

Derived terms

• frontalmente
• hueso frontal
• lóbulo frontal
• músculo frontal
• nasofrontal

Noun

frontal m (plural frontales)

1. frontal bone

   Synonym: hueso frontal

2. frontalis, frontalis muscle

   Synonym: músculo frontal

3. headtorch

Related terms

• frente

Further reading

• “frontal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
• frontal on the Spanish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^es

Swedish

Adjective

frontal (not comparable)

1. (usually in compounds) frontal
2. (anatomy) frontal

Declension

Inflection of frontal

Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative1
common singular	frontal	—	—
neuter singular	frontalt	—	—
plural	frontala	—	—
masculine plural2	frontale	—	—
Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular3	frontale	—	—
all	frontala	—	—

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

Derived terms

• frontalattack
• frontalkollision
• frontallob
• frontalkrock

References

• frontal in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• frontal in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• frontal in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)