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Glite Dictionary
fore edge

fore edge

1 9.3
The outer edge of a book's pages opposite the spine when the book is closed
  • noun
  • /fɔr ɛdʒ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : bisel frontal
  • Collectors often seek out volumes with unique illustrations on their fore edges.

Examples

  • When the book is shut, the intricate designs on the fore edge can be seen clearly.

  • Have you heard of a fore-edge illustration?

    Crimson Peak (2015)

  • There are images hidden in the book's fore-edge.

    Crimson Peak (2015)

  • Larger chunks often consist of fused pages, the edges of which fan in the delicate, telltale manner of a book's fore edge.

    Academic text (2003)

  • The artist crafted a beautiful painting on the book's fore edge, visible when closed.

Synonyms

foredge
vsfore edge
  • Specialized
9.9

The outer edge of a book's pages that faces outward on a shelf

is visible when the book is closed rather than when shelved

Surface Forms

fore edge singular
fore edges plural

Morphology

fore + edge

The meaning is directly compositional: 'fore' carries a spatial sense of 'front' and 'edge' denotes a boundary, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer 'the front edge (of the book)', i.e. the pages' edge opposite the spine. Although 'fore' can be somewhat literary or nautical, its spatial 'front' sense is transparent and cross-linguistically recognizable, so a B1 learner would likely deduce the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Fore edge is the front edge of a book's pages that you see when the book is closed. The name comes from fore, meaning 'front', and edge, meaning 'the outside of the pages', so it refers to the page edge 'opposite the spine'.