Word of the Day: Head
head / ˈhed
noun
1. of humans and animals, the upper portion of the body, containing the face, ears and brain
You cannot hold your head high with your hand out.
Yiddish Proverb
2. the mind
You must not expect old heads upon young shoulders.
English Proverb
3. intellectual ability
When the government has no ears to listen with, then she has no head for governing.
Danish Proverb
4. the side of a coin containing the main lettering
There were many times my pants were so thin I could sit on a dime and tell if it was heads or tails.
Spencer Tracy, 1900-1967
5. leader
Better the head of a village than the tail of a town.
Corsican Proverb
6. person
As mills require two stones, so friendship requires two heads.
Armenian Proverb
7. the top or upper portion of any object
The nail that sticks its head up is the one that gets hit.
Japanese Proverb
8. a culminating moment
The civil rights movement came to a head a half-century ago, during the summer of 1964.
Don Robinson, “Freedom Summer 1964,” gazette.net
9. the source of flowing water
Virtue dwells at the head of a river, to which we cannot get but by rowing against the stream.
Owen Feltham, 1602-1668
10. the part of a tool or implement used to strike
[…] if you leave a hammer outside in the weather long enough, you will find itshead completely covered with rust.
Michael W. Smith, 1957-
11. the spot of highest honor
If you’re always at the head of the class, then you’re in the wrong class.
John C. Maxwell, 1947-
12. the toilet on a ship
In the days of sailing ships, the forerunner of today’s marine toilet was known as the head or heads as there were normally two of them, some of them being enclosed in a shelter like our old outhouse toilets.
13. the end of a table opposite the foot, usually considered a position of authority
Wherever I sit is the head of the table.
H.L. Mencken, 1880-1956
adjective
1. first; principal
The head coach has to crack down a little more.
Nate Oats, 1974-
verb
1. to lead
I think a cosmetics company should be headed by a woman.
Leonard Lauder, 1933-
2. to be in charge of something, often followed by up
In 1940, then-Senator Harry Truman headed up a Senate Special Committee to investigate the National Defense Program.
Bernie Sanders, 1941-
3. to set on a course or move in the direction of
He who is too sure of himself and acts without thinking is heading for his downfall.
African Proverb
4. to move in front of so as to hinder or discourage
Bacteria evolve fast, but Scott Singleton thinks that science can head them off at the pass.
‘Learning to Bust Drug-Resistant Bugs,’ article by Beth Mole,?-
5. to put at the top of something
It seems to me that, in every culture, I come across a chapter headed ‘Wisdom’.
Ludwig Wittegenstein, 1889-1951
Thank you for including the Dictionary Project in the good work you do in your club. In my club, we have provided Dictionaries for third-grade students for enough years that now we are having former students help us to present dictionaries each year. They are often returning to the same classrooms that they were third-grade students. Teachers plead every year for us to NEVER quit this valuable project. They tell us that students NEED paper books to learn to read, to learn to do research and to do independent study. Please send me pictures of your presentations and tell me about your visits to the schools to give dictionaries to the students. To be included in our newsletter you can send me your stories at DG.2019@5630mail.org.
