A Weather Front Is Named After the Battle Line
A front is the forward part of something. Meteorologists borrowed the military sense to name the boundary between two air masses.
A front is the forward part or surface of something. The weather sense is a direct military borrowing: Norwegian meteorologists working during the First World War named the boundary between warm and cold air masses a *front*, by analogy with the battle lines then dominating the news. The metaphor of two masses clashing along a line was too apt to resist. The Latin root *frons* means forehead, which also gives *effrontery* and *affront*.
- The forward part. *The front of the house.*
- A weather boundary. *A cold front.*
- A battle line. *The Western Front.*
- A cover for other activity. *A front for smuggling.*
- Affront — an insult, from the same root. *A public affront.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | front | The front door. |
| Plural | fronts | Weather fronts. |
| Verb | front | Front the band. |
| Adjective | frontal | A frontal system. |
| Latin | frons | Forehead. |
- A cold front is moving in.Weather.
- The shop was a front for money laundering.Cover.
- Frons means forehead in Latin.Etymology.
Weather fronts explained
- Cold front — colder air pushing under warmer air, often with sharp showers
- Warm front — warmer air riding over colder, with prolonged rain
- Occluded front — a cold front catching up with a warm one
- Stationary front — neither air mass advancing
- Named in the 1910s by the Bergen School in Norway
Latin *frons*, forehead or front, through Old French *front*. The meteorological sense dates from around 1918.
Why is a weather boundary called a front?
Norwegian meteorologists named it during the First World War, by analogy with the battle fronts of the time.
Are front and affront related?
Yes. To affront someone was originally to strike them on the forehead, from Latin frons.