Middle English Dictionary Entry

hēd n.(1)
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Entry Info

Forms hēd n.(1) Also hẹ̄d, hē̆dde, hā̆d(e, head, heid, hiede, hide, het & hē̆ved, hẹ̄ved, hē̆vēd, hā̆ved, hevod, heveð, hefed, hewed, heaved, heaveð, eaved, heafod, heafoð, heafad, hæved, hæfed, hæfved, hafed, haphed, hafved, heofod, hived & hevet, hefet, heavet, hæfet, havet & hē̆fd(e, hevd, efd, heafd(e, hæfd(e, heifd, hafd(e, hifde & (in place names) -ed, -ide & (errors) heried, hevesde. Pl. hēdes, etc. & hē̆veden, heaveden, heafden, haveden, hafden, (in place name) havedenes & (early) heaved, heafde.
Etymology OE hēafod, gen. hēafdes, pl. hēafdu, hēafod, etc.

Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)

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 65 Quotations
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 45 Quotations
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; skull; (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 68 Quotations
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.
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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 22 Quotations
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.
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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 22 Quotations
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 44 Quotations
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 62 Quotations
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 49 Quotations
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.
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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 7 Quotations
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 40 Quotations
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; (g) a capital sum to be wagered, a gambler's stake [cp. DMLBS s.v. capitalis n., sense 13.]
Show 15 Quotations
10.
(a) In surnames; (b) in place names [see Smith PNElem. 1.236-7].
Show 35 Quotations

Supplemental Materials (draft)

  • c1425 Arderne Fistula (Sln 6)49/30 : It schuld gadre to ane heued.
    • Note: New medical sense: the maturated part of an abscess or boil. Could be added to sense 9, between (d) & (e).--per MJW
  • a1450 Eagle Magic in Tul.SE 22 (Add 34111)22/18 : Þan wrappe þe Eued in muche salt and þe blode alle-so.
    • Note: New spelling
  • (a1398) *Trev.Barth.(Add 27944)221a/a : Whan þe heed of saffrone is greet and rype, he bigynneþ to be departed and todelid and multiplied in many hedes wiþ here felle and skynnes and rootes, and of euery groweþ a plaunte, and it is yknowe þat in heed and roote þerof is þe vertu semynal.
    • Note: New comb. for 7a.(d): the corm of the saffron crocus.--per KC

Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Med., etc., see further J.Norri, Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary, s.v. head.

Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Med., etc. (sense 1c.(b)), see further J.Norri, Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary, s.v. head hair.

Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Med., etc. (sense 1c.(b)), see further J.Norri, Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary, s.v. head pan.

Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Med., etc. (sense 1c.(b)), see further J.Norri, Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary, s.v. headboll.

Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Med., etc. (sense 1c.(c)), see further J.Norri, Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary, s.v. head skull.

Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Med., etc. (sense 1.(c)), see further J.Norri, Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary, s.v. headache.

Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Med., etc. (sense 1.(c)), see further J.Norri, Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary, s.v. headaching.

Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Med., etc. (sense 1.(c)), see further J.Norri, Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary, s.v. headakthe.

Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Med., etc. (sense 7a.(b)), see further J.Norri, Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary, s.v. head of the arm.

Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Med., etc. (sense 7a.(b)), see further J.Norri, Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary, s.v. pintle's head.

Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Med., etc. (sense 7.(b)), see further J.Norri, Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary, s.v. head of the yard.

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