front vs lateral

front

noun
  • The foremost side of something or the end that faces the direction it normally moves. 

  • An area where armies are engaged in conflict, especially the line of contact. 

  • A major military subdivision of the Soviet Army. 

  • A grill (jewellery worn on front teeth). 

  • A seafront or coastal promenade. 

  • A person or institution acting as the public face of some other, covert group. 

  • The beginning. 

  • A field of activity. 

  • The lateral space occupied by an element measured from the extremity of one flank to the extremity of the other flank. 

  • An act, show, façade, persona: an intentional and false impression of oneself. 

  • The most conspicuous part. 

  • That which covers the foremost part of the head: a front piece of false hair worn by women. 

  • The side of a building with the main entrance. 

  • When a combat situation does not exist or is not assumed, the direction toward which the command is faced. 

  • The direction of the enemy. 

  • The interface or transition zone between two airmasses of different density, often resulting in precipitation. Since the temperature distribution is the most important regulator of atmospheric density, a front almost invariably separates airmasses of different temperature. 

adj
  • Closest or nearest, of a set of futures contracts which expire at particular times, or of the times they expire; (typically, the front month or front year is the next calender month or year after the current one). 

  • Located at or near the front. 

  • Pronounced with the highest part of the body of the tongue toward the front of the mouth, near the hard palate (most often describing a vowel). 

verb
  • To face up to, to meet head-on, to confront. 

  • To provide money or financial assistance in advance to. 

  • To deceive or attempt to deceive someone with false or disingenuous appearances (on). 

  • To appear before. 

  • To move (a word or clause) to the start of a sentence (or series of adjectives, etc). 

  • To pronounce with the tongue in a front position. 

  • To adorn with, at the front; to put on the front. 

  • To assume false or disingenuous appearances. 

  • Of an alter in dissociative identity disorder: to be the currently actively presenting member of (a system), in control of the patient's body. 

  • To act as a front (for); to cover (for). 

  • To lead or be the spokesperson of (a campaign, organisation etc.). 

  • To face, be opposite to. 

lateral

noun
  • A lateral pass. 

  • An object, such as a passage or a protrusion, that is situated on the side of something else. 

  • A sound produced through lateral pronunciation (such as /l/ in lateral). 

  • An employee hired for a position at the same organizational level or salary as their previous position. 

adj
  • Non-linear or unconventional, as in, lateral thinking. 

  • To the side; of or pertaining to the side. 

  • Affecting the side or sides of the body, or confined to one side of the body. 

  • Situated on one side or other of the body or of an organ, especially in the region furthest from the median plane. 

  • Acting or placed at right angles to a line of motion or strain. 

  • (of a consonant, especially the English clear l) Pertaining to sounds generated by partially blocking the egress of the airstream with the tip of the tongue touching the alveolar ridge, leaving space on one or both sides of the occlusion for air passage. 

verb
  • To execute a lateral pass. 

  • To move (oneself or something) in a lateral direction. 

How often have the words front and lateral occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )