Fontal

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or originating from a fountain or spring, or pertaining to a baptismal font
2. Connected to or derived from a natural water source like a spring or fountain
3. Relating to a structure that holds or emits water typically found in natural or religious contexts

Etymology: "Fontal" is a plain formation: it takes the noun "font," meaning a spring or source of water, and adds the suffix "-al," which turns a noun into an adjective meaning "relating to" or "of the nature of." Put together, it describes something connected to a natural water source such as a spring or fountain. The base noun "font" comes from Latin "fons," meaning spring or fountain, which is also where the more familiar word "fountain" comes from. English used "font" for a basin holding holy water in churches, and later for a source of anything, so "fontal" sits on the older, literal sense of the water source itself. The suffix "-al" is the same ending found in words like "central" and "natural," and it has been attached to Latin-derived stems in English for centuries.

Synonyms: frontal, forehead