frontispiece

American  

[fruhn-tis-pees, fron-] / ˈfrʌn tɪsˌpis, ˈfrɒn- /

noun

1. an illustrated leaf preceding the title page of a book.

2. Architecture. a façade, or a part or feature of a façade, often highlighted by ornamentation.

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frontispiece British  

/ ˈfrʌntɪsˌpiːs /

noun

1. an illustration facing the title page of a book

2. the principal façade of a building; front

3. a pediment, esp an ornamented one, over a door, window, etc

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Etymology

Origin of frontispiece

1590–1600; alteration (conformed to piece ) of earlier frontispice < French < Medieval Latin frontispicium, equivalent to Latin fronti- front + -spicium (combining form representing specere to look at)

Example Sentences

This research will be featured as a frontispiece in the upcoming issue of Advanced Materials and has secured both domestic and international patents.

From Science Daily • Feb. 13, 2024

After all, even Martin Droeshout’s frontispiece portrait for the First Folio shows a face that looks, to some eyes, like a mask.

From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2023

The book's frontispiece is a sketch of two women who remind her that "even in the worst conditions, Black women have looked up at the night sky and wondered."

From Salon • Apr. 20, 2021

In the background of the frontispiece, a building is being demolished; in another, a police van blocks a road cordoned off by police tape.

From New York Times • Jul. 24, 2018

Indeed, Kepler gave the printing press a prominent place in the frontispiece to the Rudolphine tables, which celebrated the progress of astronomy from the ancient world to the modern era.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton