Display entire entry: with no quotations | with all compact display | with all open display
| Key to Stencil Links: Go to the MEC guide for more on stencils. |
Bold stencil links are complete and link to the corresponding HyperBibliography entry. |
| Normal stencil links are under development, and should be used with caution. |
h
d (n.(1)) Also hd, hdde, h
d(e, head, heid, hiede, hide, het & hved, hved, hvd, hved, hevod, heveð, hefed, hewed, heaved, heaveð, eaved, heafod, heafoð, heafad, hæved, hæfed, hæfved, hafed, haphed, hafved, heofod, hived & hevet, hefet, heavet, hæfet, havet & hfd(e, hevd, efd, heafd(e, hæfd(e, heifd, hafd(e, hifde & (in place names) -ed, -ide & (errors) heried, hevesde. Pl. hdes, etc. & hveden, heaveden, heafden, haveden, hafden, (in place name) havedenes & (early) heaved, heafde.
[
OE h
1a.
(a) A human or animal head; (b) a representation of a head in heraldry, carving, painting, etc.; (c) of a bed or grave: the end at which the head lies; shete for the ~ = ~ shete; (d) hair, hairstyle, coiffure; (e) head covering, helmet; (f) of a hart or deer: the antlers; at (of) the first ~, young, when the antlers first appear.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
1b.
Phrases: (a) at ~, beside the head, close to the head; heigher bi the ~, a head taller; hele over ~, head over heels; from ~ to tail (to), fro ~ to fot (hele), fro ~ unto fot (fet), ~ and (to) fet, etc., from top to bottom, all over, entirely; (b) casten (meven, shaken, waggen) ~, to move or shake the head (expressing rage, scorn, sorrow, denial); (c) heven (holden) up ~, up the ~, to hold up (one's) head, be alert or hopeful, maintain one's dignity or position, turn the mind to God or philosophical speculation; hongen (helden) ~ adoun, hongen (smiten) doun ~, holden ~ loue, hurkelen doun with ~, hang or bow (one's) head; exhibit sorrow, humility, or shame; leien doun (resten) ~, lay (one's) head, sleep.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
1c.
Cpds. & combs.: (a) ~ ache, ~ akþe, ~ akinge, headache; (b) ~ bolle, the head without the face; ~ bon, the skull; ~ bruche, a broken head; ~ cloth, light covering for the head, headkerchief; ~ cloke = capados n. (1); ~ coverchef, headkerchief; ~ her, hair on the head; ~ panne, brainpan, cranium; (c) ~ sculle, the skull; ~ shete, a cover for the head of a bed; ?also a headkerchief [quot.: 1378]; ~ shode, crown of the head; ~ sor, a disease or pain in the head, a boil, scurf; ~ stal, part of a horse's harness, fitting on the head; (d) ~ veine, the cephalic vein; ~ washing, washing the head; ~ werk, headache; ~ werk sufferer, one who suffers headache; ~ worm, a nit; ~ wrak, headache; ~ wound, wound in the head; ~ yok, a kind of yoke for horse or ox.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
2a.
(a) An individual, a person; min (his, your, etc.) ~, me, him, you, etc.; ~ of shep, sheep; (b) cursen in ~, to curse (sb.) in (his) head, curse (sb.) as an individual; hiden ~, hide (one's) head, hide oneself; hongen over ~, hang over (one's) head, threaten; lien in ~, lie brazenly; putten forth ~, put forth (one's) head, appear, show oneself; a maugre his ~, maugre his (your) ~, in spite of oure ~, despite all he (you, we) can do; (c) a united band, army, or group.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
2b.
Cpds. & combs.: ~ hous, individual house, ?freehold dwelling; ~ mes, ?principal messuage, ?free tenement; ~ messepeni, an offering to the church for individual services, as baptisms, churchings, funerals; ~ peni, ~ scot, ~ silver, a poll-tax [orig. paid to a lord for the privilege of not attending a View of Frankpledge, Halmote, etc.; cp. chevage], a tax; ~ penyer, a year in which the tax headpenny was collected.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
3.
(a) The seat of the mind; the mind; ~ and herte, heart and mind; leien (putten) hedes togeder, to confer; with a hol ~, unanimously; (b) thought; of (after, on, upon) ouen ~, of one's own invention or authority, on one's own; (c) headstrong rashness; on (in, of, upon) ~, impetuously, rashly, unadvisedly.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
4.
(a) As equivalent to life: haven his ~, to kill him; leien (doun) ~, die; leien ~ to borwe (hire, wed), to stake (one's) life, forfeit (one's) life; min ~ be to wed, I sette min ~ upon stor, I wagen min ~, I stake my life; on (upon) his ~, upon his ~ to lesen, on peine of min ~, on pain of death; (b) in oaths & expletives: sweren bi (on) ~, to swear by (someone's) head; bi min ~; so brouke I (helpe me) min ~, so may I live, as I hope to live.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
5a.
(a) Ruler, king, governor; leader, commander; also fig.; haven ~ of, to rule or control (sb.); (b) the most important person or thing, the most famous or influential; chief witness, most serious sin; ~ of the corner, cornerstone; (c) capital city; in the ~, as capital city.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
5b.
Cpds. & combs.: (a) ~ borgh, head of a frankpledge, headborough [cp. borghes-aldre]; ~ borgh-silver, a tax paid by or to a headborough [cp. borghes-aldre-peni]; ~ burgh, ~ cite, capital city, chief town; ~ chirche, cathedral; principal church; ~ drift, a main drainage passage in a mine; ~ hode, sovereignty, leadership; ~ laughter, any one of eight deadly sins; (b) ~ man, leader, governor, director, important man; ~ might, major virtue, opposing one of the deadly sins; ~ place, capital city; principal residence, center; ~ plight, deadly sin; ~ prest, chief priest; ~ sinne, one of the seven (or eight) deadly sins; mortal sin; ?the sin of Adam; (c) ~ ston, cornerstone; ~ theu, one of the three theological or four cardinal virtues; ~ toun, capital city; ~ vertu, one of the four cardinal virtues; ~ wei, highway, main road.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
6.
(a) Origin of a river or other water supply, source, fountainhead; also fig. principal source; also the incipient stream, or arm of a stream; wel ~; (b) the beginning; the first point of a zodiacal sign; the initial letter of a word; the heading of a book or chapter; the front line of an army; on (en, of) ~, in the first place, principally; (c) the upper end of a valley, lake, drain, or ditch; quarrel ~, the upper end of a quarry; (d) cpds. ~ spring, ~ strem, ~ wel, origin of a stream or river, source; ~ ward, position in the van of an army, front cohort.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
7a.
(a) The upper end, top, summit; of a geographical area: high ground, mountains; of a still: the still-head, condensing cap; of a barrel: the (flat) end; of a hunting horn: the wider end; to ~, as to (its) top; (b) of members of the body, a vein, a bone: the outer end; of a boil, abscess, etc.: the head; of a breast: the nipple; of a muscle: the origin; of the heart: the apex; also, the base; ~ of the arm, upper end of the arm [quot.: *Chauliac(2) 16a/b:]; ~ of the yerd, pinteles ~, glans penis; (c) the operative end of an instrument, tool or weapon; the bob of a pendulum [with double meaning, see quot.: ?a1500]; of a plow: the share beam; of a scavel, shovel: the blade [shod with an iron cutting edge]; (d) a widening or knob resembling a head; the coronoid process of the ulna, or elbow bone; of a needle: the eye; of a plant: the bulb; also, the seed-bearing part of the flower; also, the whole bloom or flower; nether ~, bulb of garlic; over ~, umbel of garlic; smiten (hitten) the nail on the ~, act effectively.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
7b.
Cpds. & combs.: ~ brond, a log of wood or cover placed over a fire to damp it down for the night; ~ cloute, ? = clamp-clout; ~ iren, part of the machinery of a mill, ?millrind; ~ lond, a headland, promontory; ~ nail, a nail with a large head for studding doors.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
8.
(a) Either end of anything longer than it is broad; of an area of land, island, etc.: the edge, boundary; of a pond: the bank; of a hole: the rim; (b) either end of a plowed field, where the plow is turned; ~ of mede, (?upper) end of a meadow; (c) cpd. & combs.: ~ aker, ~ halfaker, an acre (half-acre) strip at the end of a field; ~ ~ aker, the end strip at the upper end of a field; ~ lond, a strip of land at the end of a field; also, the edge of a field; ~ yerd, a strip of a rood at the edge of a field.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
9.
Misc. senses: (a) issue, conclusion; to god ~, to a successful conclusion; (b) capital sum, full damages; (c)?a key [prob. error in transl.]: (d) alch. ~ of the croue, a symbol of calcination, reduction of the materials to a dark non-metallic condition; (e) naut. ~ line, ?a small rope for tying a sail to the yard; ~ ropes, rigging for bracing a mast, shrouds; ~ wele (wile), some kind of rope used in the rigging; (f) palm. the end of a line closer to the base of the fingers; line of the ~, the mid-line across the palm.
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
10.
(a) In surnames; (b) in place names [see Smith PNElem. 1.236-7].
show quotations compact display | show quotations open display
Display entire entry: with no quotations | with all compact display | with all open display
Lookups | Search Entries | Search Quotations | Main Page | Help
Compendium | Middle English Dictionary | HyperBibliography | Texts