English

-head

Used to create nouns indicating a state; -hood.

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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    Middle English -hed, -hede

    English -head

    From Middle English -hed, -hede, attested from the 12th century, continuing a hypothetical Old English *-hǣdu (“-hood”), from Proto-Germanic *haidį̄ (“state, condition”), related to Proto-Germanic *haiduz (“manner, character, quality, state”). Doublet of -hood, which see.

    Etymology 2

    Combining form of head (noun).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • derivedEnglishhead “The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishheed
        • inheritedOld Englishhēafod “headland”
        • inheritedOld Englishhēafod- “main”
    • inheritedMiddle English-hede
      • inheritedOld English-hād
        • derivedProto-West Germanic*-haidu
          • derivedProto-Germanic*haiduz “character”
            • derivedProto-Indo-European*keyt-

    Related: English -hood (doublet)

    Sources