forehand

forehand [fawr-hand, fohr-] ExamplesWord Origin adjective

1. (in tennis, squash, etc.) of, relating to, or noting a stroke made from the same side of the body as that of the hand holding the racket, paddle, etc.Compare backhand(def 5).
2. being in front or ahead.
3. foremost or leading.
4. done beforehand; given or made in advance, as a payment.

noun

5. (in tennis, squash, etc.) a forehand stroke.
6. the part of a horse that is in front of the rider.
7. Cards. the player on the dealer’s left, in a game with three players.Compare endhand, middlehand.
8. Archaic. a superior or advantageous position.

adverb

9. (in tennis, squash, etc.) with a forehand stroke.

Origin of forehand First recorded in 1535–45; fore- + hand Examples from the Web for forehand Historical Examples of forehand

A loin of pork with the fat and kidney taken out and boned, and a forehand of pork boned, are very nice dressed in the same way.

The Cook and Housekeeper’s Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,

Mary Eaton

Of course, not those birds who have had the forehand of a wing amputated.

Dog Breaking

William Nelson Hutchinson

It is the one opposite the direction in which you are moving the croup or forehand.

Patroclus and Penelope

Theodore Ayrault Dodge

He made a desperate effort to get up, but could only raise his forehand.

Servants of the Guns

Jeffery E. Jeffery

I had been a forehand then; but to be baffl’d, And have no feeling of the cause—Petro.

Beaumont & Fletcher’s Works (8 of 10)

Francis Beaumont

British Dictionary definitions for forehand forehand adjective (prenominal)

1. sport
   1. (of a stroke) made with the racket held so that the wrist is facing the direction of the stroke
   2. of or relating to the right side of a right-handed player or the left side of a left-handed player
2. foremost or paramount
3. done or given beforehand

noun

4. sport
   1. a forehand stroke
   2. the side on which such strokes are made
5. the part of a horse in front of the saddle
6. a frontal position

adverb

7. sport with a forehand stroke

verb

8. sport to play (a shot) forehand

Word Origin and History for forehand

tennis stroke, 1879 (adj.), 1909 (n.), from fore- + hand (n.). Earlier it meant “position in front or above” (16c.); hence forehanded “prudent.” Earliest use of the word is in archery, forehand shaft “arrow for shooting straight in front” (1540s).