Foretop
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The top of the head; the top of the forehead. obsolete
- 2 a lock of a horse's mane that grows forward between the ears wordnet
- 3 The lock of hair which grows on top of the forehead; the corresponding part of a wig. obsolete
- 4 a platform at the head of a foremast wordnet
- 5 In the phrase, to take time (or occasion or opportunity) by the foretop, meaning "to boldly seize an opportunity". obsolete
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A fop; one who sports a foretop. obsolete
- 7 An erect tuft of hair. UK, dialectal
- 8 The forelock of a horse.
- 9 A platform at the top of the foremast, supported by the trestle trees.
"His station was in the fore-top, and often from there he looked down, with the contempt of a man destined to shine in the midst of dangers, at the peaceful multitude of roofs cut in two by the brown tide of the stream, while scattered on the outskirts of the surrounding plain the factory chimneys rose perpendicular against a grimy sky, each slender like a pencil, and belching out smoke like a volcano."
- 10 The front seat at the top of a horse-drawn vehicle.
Example
More examples"Playing whist by the cabin lamps when it is storming outside is pleasant; walking the quarterdeck in the moonlight is pleasant; smoking in the breezy foretop is pleasant when one is not afraid to go up there; but these are all feeble and commonplace compared with the joy of seeing people suffering the miseries of seasickness."
Etymology
From Middle English fore-top, for-top, equivalent to fore- + top.
Related phrases
More for "foretop"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.