Word: head Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap-? Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *káput Proto-Germanic *haubudą Old English hēafod Middle English heed English head From Middle English efd, had, hafd, heafd, hed, heed, hefet, heid, het, hevd, heved, hevid, hiede, hæfd, hæfedd, from Old English hēafod (“head; top; leader; origin”), from Proto-West Germanic *haubud, from Proto-Germanic *haubudą (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *káput (“head”), from *kap- (“head; bowl, cup”). The modern word comes from Old English oblique stem hēafd-; the expected Modern English outcome for hēafod would be *heaved (similar to the Middle English word). Doublet of cape, capo, caput, chef, chief, and Howth. Cognates Cognate with Scots heid (“head”), Yola haade, hade, heade (“head”), North Frisian Haur, hood (“head”), Saterland Frisian Haud, Hööft (“head”), West Frisian haad (“head”), Alemannic German Haupt (“head”), Dutch hoofd (“head”), German Haupt, Häupt (“head”), Vilamovian hiöet, hiöt, huöt, huø̄t (“head”), Yiddish הויפּט (hoypt, “head”), Danish hode, hoved (“head”), Elfdalian ovuð (“head”), Faroese høvd, høvur (“head”), Icelandic höfuð (“head”), Jamtish huvu (“head”), Norwegian Bokmål hode, hue (“head”), Norwegian Nynorsk haud, hauv, hove, hovu, hovud, hue, huggu, hugu, hugud, huvu, huvud (“head”), Scanian huweð (“head”), Swedish hufvud, hufwud, huve, huvud, hövve (“head”), Crimean Gothic hoef (“head”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌳 (haubid), 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌸 (haubiþ, “head”); also Irish and Scottish Gaelic cuach (“bowl; dome (of head)”), Welsh cawg (“basin, bowl, vessel”), Latin capud, capus, caput (“head”), Greek κεφάλι (kefáli), κεφαλή (kefalí, “head”), Central Kurdish کاپۆڵ (kapoll, “skull”), Sanskrit कपाल (kapāla, “skull; bowl”). Pronunciation: /hɛd/, /hɛːd/, /hed/, /hiːd/ 1. To be in command of. (See also head up.) Labels: transitive Example: Who heads the board of trustees? Example: to head an army, an expedition, or a riot 2. To come at the beginning or front of; to commence. Labels: transitive Example: A group of clowns headed the procession. Example: The most important items headed the list. 3. To strike with the head Labels: transitive Example: to head the ball 4. To move in a specified direction. Labels: intransitive Example: We are going to head up North for our holiday. Example: We will head off tomorrow. 5. To remove the head from (a fish). Labels: transitive Example: Near-synonyms: behead, dehead Example: The salmon are first headed and then scaled. 6. To originate; to spring; to have its course, as a river. Labels: intransitive Example: a broad purling river, that heads in the great blue ridge of mountains, Example: The Templeton heads in the Cloncurry ranges[.] 7. To form a head. Labels: intransitive Example: This kind of cabbage heads early. Example: To be honest, this hasn't been my Garden of Eden year. […] The lettuce turned bitter and bolted. The Green Comet broccoli was good, but my coveted Romanescos never headed up. 8. To form a head (on or to); to fit or furnish (something) with a head. Labels: transitive Example: to head a nail 9. To cut off the top of; to lop off. Labels: transitive Example: to head trees 10. To behead; to decapitate. Labels: obsolete, transitive Example: I tell thee, man of God, the uncharitableness of the sect to which thou pertainest has thronged the land of punishment as much as those who headed, and hanged, and stabbed, and shot, and tortured. Example: If you head, and hang all that offend that way but for ten yeare together; you'll be glad to giue out a Commission for more heads 11. To go in front of. Example: to head a drove of cattle Example: to head a person 12. To get in the front of, so as to hinder or stop; to oppose. Example: The wind headed the ship and made progress difficult. 13. To check or restrain. Labels: broadly 14. To set on the head. Example: to head a cask