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head
- Main Entry:
- 1head
- Pronunciation:
-
\ˈhed\
- Function:
- noun
- Etymology:
- Middle English hed, from Old English hēafod; akin to Old High German houbit head, Latin caput
- Date:
- before 12th century
1: the upper or anterior division of the animal body that contains the brain, the chief sense organs, and the mouth2 a: the seat of the intellect : mind <two heads are better than one> b: a person with respect to mental qualities <let wiser heads prevail> c: natural aptitude or talent <a good head for figures> d: mental or emotional control : poise <a level head> e: headache3: the obverse of a coin —usually used in plural <heads, I win>4 a: person, individual <count heads> bplural head : one of a number (as of domestic animals)5 a: the end that is upper or higher or opposite the foot <the head of the table> <head of a sail> b: the source of a stream c: either end of something (as a drum) whose two ends need not be distinguished6: director, leader: as a: headmaster b: one in charge of a division or department in an office or institution <the head of the English department> 7 a: capitulum 2 b: the foliaged part of a plant especially when consisting of a compact mass of leaves or close fructification <a head of lettuce>8 a: the leading element of a military column or a procession b: headway9 a: the uppermost extremity or projecting part of an object : top b: the striking part of a weapon, tool, or implement c: the rounded proximal end of a long bone (as the humerus) d: the end of a muscle nearest the origin e: the oval part of a printed musical note10 a: a body of water kept in reserve at a height; also : the containing bank, dam, or wall b: a mass of water in motion11 a: the difference in elevation between two points in a body of fluid b: the resulting pressure of the fluid at the lower point expressible as this height; broadly : pressure of a fluid12 a: the bow and adjacent parts of a ship b: a ship's toilet; broadly : toilet 313: the approximate length of the head of a horse <won by a head>14: the place of leadership, honor, or command <at the head of her class>15 a (1): a word or series of words often in larger letters placed at the beginning of a passage or at the top of a page in order to introduce or categorize (2): a separate part or topic b: a portion of a page or sheet that is above the first line of printing16: the foam or scum that rises on a fermenting or effervescing liquid (as beer)17 a: the part of a boil, pimple, or abscess at which it is likely to break b: culminating point of action : crisis <events came to a head>18 a: a part or attachment of a machine or machine tool containing a device (as a cutter or drill); also : the part of an apparatus that performs the chief function or a particular function b: an electromagnet used as a transducer in magnetic recording for recording on, reading, or erasing a magnetic medium (as tape or a disk)19: an immediate constituent of a construction that can have the same grammatical function as the whole (as man in “an old man”, “a very old man”, or “the man in the street”)20 a: one who uses a drug —often used in combination <pothead> b: a devoted enthusiast : aficionado —often used in combination <computerhead>21often vulgar : fellatio, cunnilingus —usually used with give
— by the head : drawing the greater depth of water forward — over one's head 1: beyond one's comprehension or competence <the most awful intellectual detail, all of it over my head— E. B. White>2: so as to pass over one's superior standing or authority <went over my head to complain>
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