Head


From Encyclopedia Britannica (11th edition, 1910)

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Head (in O. Eng. héafod; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. κεφαλή), the upper portion of the body in man, consisting of the skull with its integuments and contents, &c., connected with the trunk by the neck (see Anatomy, Skull and Brain); also the anterior or fore part of other animals. The word is used in a large number of transferred and figurative senses, generally with reference to the position of the head as the uppermost part, hence the leading, chief portion of anything.