heafod

See also: heafod-

Middle English

Noun

heafod

1. (Early Middle English) alternative form of heed

Old English

Alternative forms

• hēafud — Mercian
• *hafud

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *haubud, from Proto-Germanic *haubudą, from Proto-Indo-European *káput-.

Cognate with Old Frisian hāved, Old Saxon hōƀid, Dutch hoofd, Old High German houbit, Old Norse hǫfuð, and Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌸 (haubiþ). The Germanic source is related to Latin caput and Sanskrit कपाल (kapāla), though the Sanskrit cognate doesn't directly come from *káput-, but rather its first element.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxæ͜ɑː.fod/, [ˈhæ͜ɑː.vod]

Noun

hēafod n

1. (anatomy) head
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "The Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost"

     Mīn hēafod hē hæfþ mid his ċeaflum befangen.

     It has seized my head in its jaws.

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "THE PASSION OF THE APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL"

     Ic bidde eow, wendað min heafod adune, and astreccað mine fét wið heofonas weard: ne eom ic wyrðe þæt ic swa hangige swa min Drihten.

     I beseech you, turn my head down, and stretch my feet towards heaven: I am not worthy to hang as my Lord.

2. top
3. captain: head, leader
4. source, origin

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	hēafod	hēafdu
accusative	hēafod	hēafdu
genitive	hēafdes	hēafda
dative	hēafde	hēafdum

Synonyms

• hafola
• (top, summit): copp

Derived terms

• forehēafod
• hafudland
• hēafod-
• hēafodbeag (“crown”)
• hēafodbolster
• hēafodclāþ
• hēafodland (“headland”)
• hēafodlēas
• hēafodlīċ
• hēafodling
• hēafodpanne
• hēafodwærċ (“head pain”)
• hēafodwund
• oferhēafod

Descendants

• Middle English: heed
  • English: head, heed, hed (obsolete), 'ead (UK, eye dialect), heead
    • → Japanese: ヘッド (heddo)
    • Sranan Tongo: ede
      • Aukan: ede
      • Saramaccan: hédi
  • Scots: heid
  • Yola: heade, haade, hade