Headword

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A headword (or head word) is the word under which a set of related dictionary definitions will be listed. This is the word that will be used to locate the entry, and which dictates its alphabetical position within the dictionary. Depending on the size and nature of the dictionary, these definitions may include alternative meanings of the word, its etymology and pronunciation, compound words or phrases that contain the headword and any other related information deemed useful by the authors.

For example the headword bread may contain the following (simplified) definitions:

Bread

(noun)

• A common food made from the combination of flour, water and yeast
• Money (slang)

(verb)

• To coat in breadcrumbs

— to know which side your bread is buttered to know how to act in your own best interests.

The Oxford English Dictionary has around 300,000 headwords [1], while Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary has about 470,000 [2]. Both of these values are as claimed by the dictionary makers, and may not be using exactly the same definition of a headword. Note that the Oxford English Dictionary covers each word much more exhaustively than the Third New International.

Some Oxford dictionaries use the term "catchword" instead.