frontaal

Frontaal is a Dutch adjective meaning "frontal" or "relating to the front part of something," especially used in anatomy and medicine to designate structures located at the forehead or the front of the head. In anatomical contexts it describes parts of the cranial or facial region, such as the frontal bone and the frontal lobes of the brain.

Etymology: The word derives from Latin frontalIs, via Dutch and other European languages, from frons meaning forehead. It is cognate with the English term frontal and shares the same Indo-European root as the prefix front-.

Usage: Frontaal is common in Dutch clinical and educational texts. It contrasts with terms for rear regions. In everyday speech, Dutch speakers may use more general terms like vooraan or voorste outside technical contexts, but in anatomy the adjective frontaal is standard.

Other notes: The term can appear in compounds and fixed phrases to label frontal structures or regions, such as the forehead area or the frontal aspect of a structure. English readers encountering frontaal in Dutch texts will typically translate it as frontal.