frontalis

IPA/frʌntˈɑːl.ɪs/
IPA/frʌnˈtæl.ɪs/

frontalis — noun

1. the flat sheet of muscle that lies just under the skin of the forehead and lifts

1.nounC2
Definition

the flat sheet of muscle that lies just under the skin of the forehead and lifts the eyebrows; in anatomy books it is treated as the front half of the larger occipitofrontalis muscle.

Example

The anatomy lecturer asked Joaquín to point to the frontalis on the cadaver's forehead.

definite article: 'the frontalis'

When Mei raised her eyebrows in surprise, her frontalis pulled the skin of her forehead upward.

physiological action: contraction lifts the eyebrows

Common collocations
  • the frontalis
  • frontalis muscle
  • contract the frontalis
  • inject the frontalis
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

the frontalis

frontalis muscle

Usage Note

Usually appears with the definite article ('the frontalis') because each person has one such muscle on each side. Common in anatomy textbooks, plastic-surgery notes, and clinical reports rather than everyday speech.

Common Mistakes

I felt a pain in my frontals.
I felt a pain in my frontalis.
the singular form ends in -is; there is no plural 'frontals' for this muscle.

frontalis — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Frontalis' is the strict anatomical term for the flat muscle of the forehead; you will see it in textbooks, surgical notes, and aesthetic-medicine reports. 'Frontal' is a general English adjective meaning 'of the forehead' (a frontal headache, the frontal bone), so 'frontal muscle' is sometimes used as a plain-English paraphrase, but specialists prefer 'frontalis' or 'frontalis muscle' to avoid confusion with other 'frontal' structures. 'Forehead muscle' is the everyday descriptive phrase a patient might use when talking to a doctor. So: lecturers and clinicians say 'the frontalis lifts the eyebrows'; a patient might say 'the muscle in my forehead feels tight'; both refer to the same anatomical sheet of muscle.

frontalis ↗frontal ↗forehead muscle

Common collocations

Nouns

  • frontalis muscle
  • frontalis nerve
  • frontalis flap

Phrases

  • the frontalis lifts the eyebrows
  • inject the frontalis
  • contract the frontalis

Prepositions

  • of the frontalis
  • into the frontalis
  • above the frontalis

Etymology

LatinModern LatinEnglish

Modern Latin, from Latin 'frons' (genitive 'frontis'), meaning 'forehead', plus the adjective ending '-alis' that turns a noun into 'of or belonging to'. Anatomists of the 17th and 18th centuries adopted the word 'frontalis' as part of the international Latin naming system for muscles and nerves, so the same forehead muscle could be discussed across languages without translation.