frontispiece

[ fruhn-tis-pees, fron- ]

/ ˈfrʌn tɪsˌpis, ˈfrɒn- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR frontispiece ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an illustrated leaf preceding the title page of a book.

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

Nearby words

frontier, frontier orbital, frontiersman, frontierswoman, frontis, frontispiece, frontlash, frontless, frontlet, frontlist, frontman

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)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for frontispiece

Frontispiece and numerous other full-page cuts and illustrations in the text.
A Catalogue of Books in English Later than 1700 (Vol 2 of 3)|Various
One hundred copies printed by Whittingham, frontispiece by George Cruikshank.
A Catalogue of Books in English Later than 1700 (Vol 2 of 3)|Various
Two hundred copies printed, with frontispiece, portrait, and woodcut title-page by Alfred A. Longden.
A Catalogue of Books in English Later than 1700 (Vol 2 of 3)|Various
Compare the Ascula of the calcareous sponge on the Frontispiece, Fig. 7, 8.
The History of Creation, Vol. II (of 2)|Ernst Haeckel

But it is the frontispiece which bears specially on the present contention.
The Mystery of Francis Bacon|William T. Smedley

British Dictionary definitions for frontispiece

frontispiece

/ (ˈfrʌntɪsˌpiːs) /

noun

an illustration facing the title page of a book

the principal façade of a building; front

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

Word Origin for frontispiece

C16 frontispice, from French, from Late Latin frontispicium façade, inspection of the forehead, from Latin frōns forehead + specere to look at; influenced by piece

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012