Word of the Day

: September 4, 2015

affront

verb uh-FRUNT

What It Means

1 a : to insult especially to the face by behavior or language

b : to cause offense to

2 : to face in defiance : confront

3 : to appear directly before

affront in Context

The challenge going ahead is to initiate the necessary changes to the organization without making those who established it feel affronted.

"Would architectural and design leaders here or nationally be affronted if the Michael Graves-designed building were to be demolished or repurposed or sold-and if so, should that matter?" - The Oregonian, editorial, 26 July 2015

Did You Know?

The Middle English afronten, the ancestor of the Modern English verb affront, was borrowed from the Anglo-French afrunter, a verb which means "to defy" but which also has the specific meaning "to strike on the forehead" or "to slap on the face." These more literal senses reveal the word's Latin origins, a combination of the Latin prefix ad-, meaning "to" or "towards," and front-, frons, which means "forehead" (and which is also the source of the English word front). While the striking or slapping sense of afrunter was not adopted by English, it is alluded to in the oldest use of the Modern English word: "to insult especially to the face."