headless
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈhɛdləs/
rhymes: -ɛdləs
Etymology: From Middle English heedles, hevedles, from Old English hēafodlēas (“headless”), equivalent to head + -less. Cognate with Dutch hoofdloos (“headless”), Danish hovedløs (“headless”), Swedish huvudlös (“headless”), Icelandic höfuðlaus (“headless”).
Senses: examples: text: How did the headless horseman see to chase Ichabod?
glosses: Without a head (body part).
Synonym of decapitated.
synonyms: word: beheaded
word: deheaded
word: decapitated
examples: text: headless invertebrates
glosses: Without a head (body part).
Naturally having and needing no head.
examples: text: a headless nail;   a headless set screw
synonyms: unheaded#Adjective
glosses: Without a head (hardware or device feature).
examples: text: The headless army blundered along after the death of their general, accomplishing nothing.
text: His forsaken soldiers, being now a headless company, and no longer an army to be feared, obtained nevertheless a reasonable composition from the Carthaginians […]
ref: 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):
synonyms: leaderless
coordinate_terms: rudderless
glosses: Without leadership.
topics: human-sciences
linguistics
sciences
glosses: Not having a head morpheme or word.
raw_tags: of a phrase or compound
examples: text: /redirect. Used for console redirection in headless servers.
ref: 2003, William Boswell, Inside Windows Server 2003, Addison-Wesley, →ISBN, page 62:
text: Routers typically run headless, without a keyboard or monitor.
ref: 2007, Carla Schroder, Linux Networking Cookbook, O’Reilly Media, published 2008, →ISBN, page 47:
text: This is not unexpected for a Windows system running as a virtual machine or a headless server,[…]
ref: 2010, Charles Bell et al., MySQL High Availability: Tools for Building Robust Data Centers, O'Reilly Media, →ISBN, page 278:
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: Running without a graphical user interface; running without any attached output device (e.g., monitor) or input device (e.g., keyboard, mouse).
glosses: Without a head of foam.
raw_tags: of beer
examples: text: 1579, E. K. (Edward Kirke?), Notes on Spenser’s The Shepheardes Calender
If any one will rashly blame such his choice of old and unwonted words, him may I more justly blame and condemn, either of witless headiness in judging, or of headless hardiness in condemning.
text: THENOT: Cuddy, I wot thou kenſt little Good, / So vainly to advance thy headleſs Hood.
ref: 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC:
glosses: Heedless.
examples: text: A headless shell doesn't have a flange.
topics: engineering
firearms
government
military
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
politics
tools
war
weaponry
glosses: Rimless, not having a cartridge case rim (flange).
Derived terms: headless browser
headless chicken monster
headless genitive
headless horseman
Headless Horseman
Headless Horsewoman
headless horsewoman
headless lounge
headlessly
headlessness
headless over heels
like a headless chicken
like a headless chook
run around like a headless chicken