Fronteer
/frʌnˈtɪər/noun
An obsolete spelling of frontier, meaning the border or outer limit of a settled country or region.
Did you know?Fronteer is recorded as an archaic variant of frontier, whose ancestry evokes the “front” or face of a territory confronting what lies beyond it.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhront-
“A reconstructed root associated with the front or projecting part”
Classical Latin
Latin
frōns, frontis
“The forehead, brow, or front”
Late Latin
Latin
frontāria
“A boundary or border region, formed from the idea of a front”
12th–13th Century
Old French
frontiere
“A border or boundary”
15th Century
English
frontier
“The border of a country or the outer limit of settlement”
16th–19th Century
English
fronteer
“An obsolete spelling variant of frontier”
Modern English
English
frontier
“A boundary, especially the edge of settled territory or a field of exploration”
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