Definition

1. Noun:
   • A word placed at the beginning of a line or paragraph (as in a dictionary entry): The main word that is being defined or explained, typically set in bold or a distinctive typeface to stand out from the rest of the text.
   • A content word that can be qualified by a modifier: In linguistics, a word that carries the core meaning in a phrase and can be modified by other words, such as adjectives or adverbs.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • In this dictionary, the headword "run" is followed by its pronunciation, part of speech, and definitions.
  • The student looked up the headword to understand the meaning of the entire phrase.
  • Linguists analyze how modifiers relate to the headword in a noun phrase.

Advanced Usage

• As a lexicographical term: In dictionary-making, the headword is the primary unit of organization. All information in an entry pertains to this word.
  • The lexicographer ensured each headword was alphabetized correctly.
• In phrase structure grammar: The headword determines the grammatical category of the entire phrase.
  • In the phrase "very quick runner," the noun "runner" is the headword.

Variants and Related Words

• Head (noun, linguistics): Often used interchangeably with headword in syntactic analysis to refer to the central element of a phrase.
  • The head of the adjective phrase "extremely interesting" is "interesting."
• Lemma (noun): In computational linguistics and lexicography, a headword's canonical or dictionary citation form.
  • "Run," "runs," "ran," and "running" all share the same lemma, which is the headword "run."

Synonyms

• Entry word: The word that begins a dictionary entry.
• Keyword: A significant word used as a reference point (common in indexing and information retrieval).
• Main word: The principal word in a phrase or entry.

Related Phrases

• Headword list: The list of all words defined in a dictionary or glossary.
  • The textbook includes a headword list at the end of each chapter.
• Running headword: A headword printed at the top of a dictionary page to indicate the first or last entry on that page.
  • The running headword helps users navigate the dictionary quickly.

Noun

1. a word placed at the beginning of a line or paragraph (as in a dictionary entry)
2. a content word that can be qualified by a modifier