English

headborough

Headborough comes from English head ‘chief’.

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

A compound of head ‘chief’ + borough

Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’

…

Proto-Germanic *haubudą ‘head’

Proto-West Germanic *haubud

Old English hēafod ‘head’

Middle English heed ‘head’

English head

Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to be elevated, up high’

…

Proto-Germanic *burgz ‘stronghold, city’

Proto-West Germanic *burg ‘city’

Old English burh

Middle English borwe

noun Synonym of tithingman, the head of a tithing.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.