effrontery

Etymology

Borrowed in the late 17th century from French effronterie, itself from effronté (“shameless, insolent”), which came from Old French esfronté, from Vulgar Latin *exfrontātus. Compare Latin effrōns (“barefaced”), formed from the prefix ex- (“from”) and frōns (“forehead”; related to English front). By surface analysis, it breaks down as ef- + front + -er + -y.