English
head man
Head man comes from Old English hēafodmann ‘leader’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *haubidamann.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*haubidamann‘leader’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hēafodmann‘leader’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heed man
- Englishearliest quotation 1952head man
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*haubidamann‘leader’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hēafodmann‘leader’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heed man
- Englishearliest quotation 1952head man
Earliest quotation: 1952, Dorothy M. Johnson, The Unbeliever; in Indian Country: “I got influence with the Crows," Mitchell had boasted…”
Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’
…
Proto-Germanic *haubudą ‘head’
Proto-West Germanic *haubud
Old English hēafod ‘head’
Middle English heed ‘head’
English head
Proto-Germanic *mann- ‘human being, person, man’
Proto-West Germanic *mann ‘person’
Old English mann ‘human being, person, man’
Middle English man
English man
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *haubidamann
Today it means
noun The person in charge of an organization, clan, tribe, or other group.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *haubidamann / head man