A variant spelling of fornenst; a dialectal word meaning 'opposite to,' 'facing,' or 'toward.'
An alternative form of fornenst, showing how Scottish and Northern English dialects had multiple spellings for the same word. Both forms descend from Old English and were used interchangeably in different regions and time periods.
Language never stands still—'fornent' and 'fornenst' are like sibling words that once thrived across Britain, but they've been pushed out by standard 'opposite' and 'against,' surviving mainly in very traditional dialects.
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