English

headrace

From head + race.

A compound of head + race

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 *h₁reh₁s- ‘to flow’

Proto-Germanic *rēsō ‘a course’

Old Norse rás ‘a running’

Middle English race

English race

Today it means

noun The part of a millrace that brings water to the millwheel.

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

Etymograph / headrace