Frontiers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The boundaries or limits of a particular area, often referring to the edge of settled land or the more remote parts
2. The unexplored or intellectually challenging limits of a field or discipline where new knowledge is being pursued
3. The dividing lines between different regions or realms, whether they be geographical, cultural, or conceptual in nature

Etymology: "Frontiers" is the plural of "frontier", so its history is that of the singular noun. The word came into English in Middle English as "frounter", borrowed from Old French "fronter", which is the source of modern French "frontière". Its root is the Old French "front", meaning forehead or face, the same word that gave English "front". The sense is literal and spatial: a frontier was the part of a territory that faced outward, toward whatever lay beyond it. That origin explains the shift in meaning. A territory's front was the side that confronted an enemy or unknown land, so the word came to mean the border zone itself. Over time it moved from the line between two states to the edge of settled land, the outer rim where civilisation gave way to wilderness. The plural "frontiers" simply refers to several such edges or limits, most often used in the figurative sense of the limits of knowledge or activity.

Synonyms: boundaries, borders, limits, edges, thresholds

Antonyms: interiors, centers, hearts, middles, core