fore-court
(ˈfɔəkɔət)
[f. fore- prefix + court n.]
The court or enclosed space in front of a building, the first or outer court. spec. the petrol-dispensing part of a filling-station.
| 1535 Coverdale Ezek. x. 5 The sounde of the Cherubins wynges was herde in to the forecourte. 1668 Evelyn Diary 14 Aug., A slip of ground..to enlarge my fore-court. 1814 Scott Wav. xv, Waverley repaired to the fore-court as it was called. 1865 E. Meteyard Life Wedgwood I. 252 The ivy-clad cottage, with its forecourt or garden standing to the front, the kilns and sheds behind. 1884 C. Marvin Centr. Asia 28 Through the crowded forecourt and bazaar. 1958 Motor 24 Sept. 239 Most motorists patronize a particular garage when they are on their home ground, having found that the forecourt service is efficient and..reflects good workmanship in the premises behind. 1961 Oxford Mail 4 Oct. 2/5 Girl or boy to train as forecourt attendant. 1969 Guardian 11 Aug. 5/6 Stamps are ‘paid’ for on the forecourt by artificially high prices. |
| fig. 1867 J. H. Stirling in Fortn. Rev. Oct. 377 These to him (with Ontology, but only as fore-court) constituted Metaphysic. |
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Add: b. The front part of a court used for sports and games, esp. the area of a lawn-tennis court between the service-line and the net. U.S.
| 1921 W. T. Tilden Art of Lawn Tennis vi. 65 The dangerous man is the player who mixes his style from back to fore court at the direction of an ever-alert mind. 1923 ― Singles & Doubles x. 159 The national singles championship of 1922 showed the growth of the forecourt style. 1977 Washington Post 30 June e4/1 Tom (Satch) Sanders,..a 13-year veteran of the Boston Celtic forecourt. 1980 Ibid. 4 Jan. c1/6 One net-rusher against another similarly inclined to reach the forecourt. |