Meanings
plural foreheads · alternative for'ead · alternative forrad · alternative forread · alternative forred · alternative forrid
- countableThe part of the face above the eyebrows and below the hairline.
The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue.[…].
1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 17, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC2 more examples
'This question the Dodo could not answer without a great deal of thought, and it sat for a long time with one finger pressed upon its forehead (the position in which you usually see Shakespeare, in the pictures of him), while the rest waited in silence. At last the Dodo said, ‘everybody has won, and all must have prizes.’'
1865, Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, MacmillanSerene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.[…]She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.
1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC - uncountableconfidence; audacity; impudence.
Though I look old, yet I am strong and lusty; For in my youth I never did apply Hot and rebellious liquors in my blood, Nor did not with unbashful forehead woo The means of weakness and debility
c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii], lines 691-93 - countableuncountableThe upper part of a mobile phone, above the screen.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe large cranial bone forming the front part of the cranium: includes the upper part of the orbits
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*forēhaubid
- Old Englishforehēafod
- Middle Englishforhed
- Englishforehead
From Middle English forhed, forheed, from Old English forehēafod, from Proto-West Germanic *forēhaubid, corresponding to fore- + head. Cognate with Scots foreheid (“forehead”), Dutch voorhoofd (“forehead”), German Vorhaupt (“forehead”), Danish forhoved (“brow; forehead; face”). Compare also West Frisian foarholle (“forehead”), German Low German Vörkopp (“forehead”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans voorkop
- voorkoppart of face above eyebrows
Ancient Greek μέτωπον
- μέτωπον (métōpon)part of face above eyebrows
Arabic جَبْهَة, جَبِين
- جَبْهَة (jabha)part of face above eyebrows
- جَبِين (jabīn)part of face above eyebrows
Basque kopeta, kopetan
- kopetapart of face above eyebrows
- kopetanpart of face above eyebrows
Bengali কপাল, পেশানী
- কপাল (kopal)part of face above eyebrows
- পেশানী (peśani)part of face above eyebrows
- জবীন (jobin)part of face above eyebrows
Bulgarian чело́, лоб
- чело́ (čeló)part of face above eyebrows
- лоб (lob)part of face above eyebrows
Catalan front
- frontpart of face above eyebrows
Chinese Cantonese 額頭 /额头
- 額頭 /额头 (ngaak⁶ tau⁴)part of face above eyebrows
Chinese Mandarin 前額 /前额, 額頭 /额头
- 前額 /前额 (qián'é)part of face above eyebrows
- 額頭 /额头 (étóu)part of face above eyebrows
- 額 /额 or 頟 /额 (é)part of face above eyebrows
- 額門 /额门 (émén)part of face above eyebrows
- 眉宇 (méiyǔ)part of face above eyebrows
Czech čelo
- čelopart of face above eyebrows
Danish pande
- pandepart of face above eyebrows
Dutch voorhoofd
- voorhoofdpart of face above eyebrows
Esperanto frunto
- fruntopart of face above eyebrows
Estonian laup
- lauppart of face above eyebrows
Finnish otsa
- otsapart of face above eyebrows
French front
- frontpart of face above eyebrows
German Stirn
- Stirnpart of face above eyebrows
Greek μέτωπο
- μέτωπο (métopo)part of face above eyebrows
Hawaiian lae
- laepart of face above eyebrows
Hebrew מֵצַח
- מֵצַח (métsakh)part of face above eyebrows
Hindi माथा, माथ
- माथा (māthā)part of face above eyebrows
- माथ (māth)part of face above eyebrows
- ललाट (lalāṭ)part of face above eyebrows
- मस्तक (mastak)part of face above eyebrows
Hungarian homlok
- homlokpart of face above eyebrows
Icelandic enni
- ennipart of face above eyebrows
Indonesian dahi
- dahipart of face above eyebrows
Irish clár éadain
- clár éadainpart of face above eyebrows
Italian fronte
- frontepart of face above eyebrows
Japanese 額, お凸
- 額 (hitai)part of face above eyebrows
- お凸 (odeko)part of face above eyebrows
Korean 이마
- 이마 (ima)part of face above eyebrows
Latin frōns
- frōnspart of face above eyebrows
Latvian piere
- pierepart of face above eyebrows
Lithuanian kaktà
- kaktàpart of face above eyebrows
Malay dahi, jidat
- dahipart of face above eyebrows
- jidatpart of face above eyebrows
Māori rae
- raepart of face above eyebrows
Norwegian Bokmål panne
- pannepart of face above eyebrows
Norwegian Nynorsk panne
- pannepart of face above eyebrows
Polish czoło
- czołopart of face above eyebrows
Portuguese testa
- testapart of face above eyebrows
Punjabi ਮੱਥਾ
- ਮੱਥਾ (matthā)part of face above eyebrows
Romanian frunte
- fruntepart of face above eyebrows
Russian лоб, чело́
- лоб (lob)part of face above eyebrows
- чело́ (čeló)part of face above eyebrows
Scottish Gaelic bathais
- bathaispart of face above eyebrows
Slovak čelo
- čelopart of face above eyebrows
Spanish frente, testuz
- frentepart of face above eyebrows
- testuzpart of face above eyebrows
- testerapart of face above eyebrows
- frontepart of face above eyebrows
Swedish panna
- pannapart of face above eyebrows
Tagalog noo
- noopart of face above eyebrows
Tamil நெற்றி, நுதல்
- நெற்றி (neṟṟi)part of face above eyebrows
- நுதல் (nutal)part of face above eyebrows
Thai หน้าผาก, เถิก
- หน้าผาก (nâa-pàak)part of face above eyebrows
- เถิก (tə̀ək)part of face above eyebrows
Turkish alın
- alınpart of face above eyebrows
Ukrainian лоб, чоло́
- лоб (lob)part of face above eyebrows
- чоло́ (čoló)part of face above eyebrows
Urdu ماتھا, پیشانی
- ماتھا (māthā)part of face above eyebrows
- پیشانی (peśānī)part of face above eyebrows
- جَبِین (jabīn)part of face above eyebrows
Vietnamese trán
- tránpart of face above eyebrows
Welsh talcen
- talcenpart of face above eyebrows
Yiddish שטערן
- שטערן (shtern)part of face above eyebrows
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with forehead
All rhymes →Cite this entry
forehead. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forehead
“forehead.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forehead. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “forehead,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forehead.
Source: forehead on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.