# head - derivations



## ThomasK

I was surprised to find out the, no, a word for 'head' turned up in so many words (derivations - let's focus on those). How about 'head'-derivations in your language? 

Dutch: 
*koppig* - head (neg.) + -ig >>> stubborn (// Fr. _*têtu*_)
*kapittel* - Lat. caput >>> *chapter* 

English, French (and Romanic languages)
*chapter/ chapitre* of course, but also *captain/capitaine*
*chief/ chef*, but also *achieve/ achever*
*cap/ cape/ chapeau - kerchief (cover-head)*
*> chaplet*
*cadet & cabbage,* so I read_(though this is less... inspirational ;-_*))*

Probably not* cup* _(I remember this topic was discussed somewhere, but I was unable to trace it at EHL)_

There must be more though... 

Of course in some cases derivations are translated as compounds (_koppig - pig-headed_), but I am afraid that list is endless. Better stick to derivations, I think...


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## sakvaka

*Finnish*.
_itsepäinen _= stubborn (lit. self-headed)
_kylmäpäinen _= hard-nosed (lit. cold-headed)
_päätön = _senseless, absurd (lit. headless)_Päätöntä menoa! _~ It's totally absurd!​_päähine_ = a piece of headgear
_päällä _= on sth
_päällikkö _= chief
_päällinen _= _n._ cover; _pl. _(sandwich) fillers; _a._ *jnk ~* on top of (above) sth
_päällyste _= surface, pavement (_of a road_); ...
_päällystö _= officers
_(päästä / päästää) _= get (somewhere) / release*
_(päästö) _= emission, discharge (_of a gas_)...*
_pääte _= (_computers_) terminal; (_ling._) suffix; ending...
_pääty _= end (_usually the__ ~ of a bed_)
_päättää > päätös / päättyä _= decide > decision / end
_päätellä_ = conclude
_päätyä _= end up (as)

* The connection is not etymologically certain.


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## bibax

Czech:

*hlava* (Psl. golva, related to Latin calva) = head (and many figurative meanings like: chapter, principal, bolthead);

*hlávka* = cabbage head, hop cone, etc.;
*hlavička* = _dim._ little head (and many figurative meanings like nail head);
*hlavinka* = 1. _dim._ little head 2. thole, rowlock;
*hlavice* = many meanings (warhead, capital of a column, trolley head);
*hlaveň* = 1. blade _(obs.)_ 2. rifle barrel, gunpoint; (the main part of a sword or rifle)
*záhlaví* = header, heading;
*zhlaví* = _terminus technicus_ e.g. staniční zhlaví = station gridiron;
*pohlavek, záhlavek* = slap;
*ohlávka* = headgear;
*hlavoun* = _(slang.)_ boss;
*pohlavár* = boss, cacique, chieftain (but tribal chieftain is *náčelník* from *čelo* = forehead, frons);
*hlavatec* = 1. person with a big head (Czech surname), _Lat._ capito (also Roman surname) 2. Priapulus (marine worm);
*hlavatka* = 1. a kind of axe 2. Hucho hucho (Danube salmon);
*hlaváč* = 1. Gobius, Neogobius (fish) 2. Scabiosa (plant);
*hlaváček* = Adonis (plant);

stubborn: *tvrdohlavý* (hard-headed), *svéhlavý* (self-headed) are compounds;


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## Arrius

It would be as well to point out that* heady* in the thread title means
_extremely exciting as if by alcohol or a narcotic_ (i.e. it goes to the head/makes you dizzy)

I might add to the French list given by *ThomasK*:
*derechef* - once more, again, anew but not used internationally in music like
Italian *da capo* (from the beginning again/ from the top)
*(au) chevet* -at the bedside, bedhead

There are two words for head in German, der *Kopf *(also a cognate of caput) and das *Haupt* from which are derived:
*enthaupten *- to behead or, less elegantly, *köpfen* 
*Kohlkopf* - cabbage
*Hauptstadt* (lit. main town) = *capital *(Eng. & Sp.), *capitale* (French) all from _caput_.
and note Karl Marx's *Das Kapital*, in another sense. Das *Kapitel* is a chapter in a book
*Häuptling* - chieftain (of a tribe)
*Hauptwort* (lit. main word) - noun, now generally replaced by_ Nomen_. and
eine *mehrköpfige* Familie (lit. a many-headed family - a large family/ famille nombreuse)


In Spanish, head is *cabeza* (also from caput) and gives us 
*cabecera* . bedhead _(nuestro_ _medico de cabecera_ - our family doctor)
*cabecilla* - leader of a gang, terrorist group etc.
*cabezota* - stubborn

In Arabic *ra's* means head, and also promontory as in _ra's tanuura_, an oil facility on the Persian (Arab) Gulf,
*ra'is *is president, chief, boss (it is also used as a loan word in French)
*ra'isy* means main or principal
*ra'smaal* is capital in the financial sense,_ maal_ being wealth, funds.


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## ThomasK

This is even more impressive than I had expected. Thanks !


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## ThomasK

Let me just ask some extra questions, or no, not questions, just point out some things that are intriguing to me 
(1) Finnish: surface, decide (// achieve ?)
(2) Czech: slapping (in the face ?), end station (head station ??), axe
(3) others:_ da capo, Kapital, ... _

_Thanks !_


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## ilocas2

ThomasK said:


> Let me just ask some extra questions, or no, not questions, just point out some things that are intriguing to me
> (2) Czech: end station (head station ??)



Zhlaví is this: http://vlak.interregion.cz/trate/040/dopravny/nova_paka/nova_paka_11.jpg


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## ThomasK

I see, so end and beginning, one could say... Thanks !


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## sakvaka

ThomasK said:


> Let me just ask some extra questions, or no, not questions, just point out some things that are intriguing to me
> (1) Finnish: surface, decide (// achieve ?)



_Päällyste_ is mostly used to refer to the surface or pavement of a road, the asphalt layer. Probably because it has been spread on top of (_päälle_) the road. More generally, it's any solid surface layer (except if it is called _pinnoite_ < _pinta_ 'surface').

_Päättää_ means more than one thing: "decide, make up one's mind¹", but also to "bring to a close, end²". _Päätellä_ is the frequentative aspect and signifies concluding. There is also the idiom _päättää päivänsä_ (to end one's days), which means "to commit a suicide".

_Achieve _would be _saavuttaa_ < _saapua_ (arrive).

¹ Compare with Dutch _besluiten_ - this Germanic form may have been the etymological counterpart (Kaisa Häkkinen 2004: Nykysuomen etymologinen sanakirja, p. 1000)! The Finnish verb doesn't imply closing, though.
² The more original meaning.


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## bibax

> (2) Czech: slapping (in the face ?), end station (head station ??), axe


I do not know the proper English terminology.

Slapping in the face is "políček" in Czech (from "po líci" = along the cheek). It is used when someone offended you. "Pohlavek" (from "po hlavě" = along the head) is usually used by fathers or teachers punishing their sons or pupils. It starts from the back side of the head and ends on the top of the head. There is even a term used also figuratively: "výchovný pohlavek" (= educational ..., I don't know how to say pohlavek in English).

The word "zhlaví" (Reiskopf in German) is used by railwaymen. It is a "head" of the trackyard of railway station (as you can see on the picture). Common stations have usually two zhlaví/heads on both sides. I don't know the correct English term as well.

"Hlavatka" is a special axe used by carpenters for making (squared) beams from the tree trunks. Not used anymore. I don't know why the term is derived from the word "hlava" (= head).


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
Head is «κεφαλή» (cefa'li, _feminine noun_) or colloquially, «κεφάλι» (ce'fali, _neuter noun_), from the classical feminine noun «κεφαλὴ» (kĕpʰa'lē), PIE base *ghebh(c)l-, _the head_.
1/ Επικεφαλής (epicefa'lis, _adv._), _the leader, the head (the person who is in charge)_. Derives from the classical expression «ἐπὶ κεφαλῆς» (ĕ'pi kĕpʰa'lēs)-->_at the head_. Similar with the French expression _en tête_.
2/ Επικεφαλίδα (epicefa'liða, _feminine noun_), literally _headline_ (e.g. headline news). Derives for the Hellenistic feminine noun «ἐπικεφαλίς» (ĕpĭkĕpʰa'lis)-->_head of battering-ram_.
3/ Χονδροκέφαλος, -η, -ο (_adj._ xonðro'cefalos _m._, xonðro'cefali _f._, xonðro'cefalo _n._), formed by the joining together of the adj. «χονδρός» or «χοντρός» (xon'ðros or xon'dros, in vernacular)-->initially _granular, coarse_ later _thick, fat_ + «κεφαλὴ». Χονδροκέφαλος is the _pig-headed_.
4a/ «Κεφάλαιο» (ce'faleo, _neuter noun_), _the capital_ (with the meaning of financial value/assets). From the classical noun «κεφάλαιον» (kĕ'pʰălǣŏn, _neuter noun_) which described something of great significance or value (and money is of great significance or value).
4b/ «Κεφάλαιο» (ce'faleo, _neuter noun_), _the subdivision of a written work_. 
5/ «Κεφαλαίος, -α, -ο» (_adj._ cefa'leos _m._, cefa'lea _f._, cefa'leo _n._), the large alphabetic characters used as the first letter in writing or printing, deriving from the classical «κεφαλαῖος» (kĕpʰa'lǣŏs)-->_of the head_, metaph. _principal, chief_.
6/ «Εγκέφαλος» (eɲ'ɟefalos, _masculine noun_), _the brain, mastermind_; deriving form the classical masculine noun «ἐγκέφαλος» (ĕŋ'gĕpʰalŏs) with the same meaning. Lit. _that which is inside the head_ (prep. «ἐν», ĕn-->_in, into_ + «κεφαλὴ»).

[c] is a voiceless palatal plosive
[ð] is a voiced dental non-sibilant fricative
[ŋ] is a velar nasal
[ɲ] is a palatal nasal
[ɟ] is a voiced palatal plosive


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## ThomasK

That is quite interesting, again, Apmoy !
(1) For a second I thought of _episkopos_, but only has to do with looking, doesn't it? 
(3) _Chondrocefalo_ could be linked to _hypochonder_, I suppose... 
(4b) So not a chapter in fact, something like a subchapter, or could it still be called a _chapter_ (as that is a subdivision of a written text as well).


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## apmoy70

ThomasK said:


> That is quite interesting, again, Apmoy !
> (1) For a second I thought of _episkopos_, but only has to do with looking, doesn't it?


Yep, episkopos is simply the overseer


ThomasK said:


> (3) _Chondrocefalo_ could be linked to _hypochonder_, I suppose...


Actually hypochondriac derives from «ὑποχόνδριος» (hupo'xondrios), _prep. & adv._ «ὑπό» (hu'po)-->_under_ + χόνδρος ('xondros, the stress on the penult)-->_the cartilage of the breast_. «Ὑποχόνδριος» (hypochondriac) is the person preoccupied with body functions and interprets normal body sensations as portending problems of major medical moment. Hypochondriasis was thought by the ancients to be due to disturbed function of the spleen and other organs in the upper abdomen. The adjective «χονδρός» is stressed on the ultimate syllable.


ThomasK said:


> (4b) So not a chapter in fact, something like a subchapter, or could it still be called a _chapter_ (as that is a subdivision of a written text as well).


Sorry if I wasn't clear enough, it's the chapter


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## ThomasK

There is also *'caudillo' *in Spanish, I now find out, which appears to be based on 'cabdillo', which in turn is based on Lat. _capitellum_, head, in itself a diminutive of 'caput', head. _(I had previously associated it with _cauda_, tail, whereas that did not seem logical at all)

*Hoofd-*_ is also our synonym of _main _in English. (Main engine = _hoofdmotor_)


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## Rallino

Turkish:

*Baş* - head
*Başlık* - title
*Başkan* - boss
*Başta* - at first, for starters
*Baştan* - all over again (lit. from the head)
*Başka *- other
*Başlangıç *- beginning
*Başlamak* - to begin
*Başbuğ* - leader
*Başak* - ear of grain ; Virgo (astrology)

We also have the word _*kafa*_, it's closer to _skull_. In colloquial language it can be used as an adjective for people. Like: _Alara çok kafa bir insan._ (lit. Alara is a skull person.) This sounds negative in English, but in Turkish it means: _Alara is a very cool person to hang out with._

Also:

*Kafadar* = buddy
*Kafasız *= stupid
*Kaskafalı* = thick headed


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## ThomasK

Quite interesting, thanks (I am quite impressed at all those words). Are all of those derivations or compounds, if I may ask? --- The most intriguing one to me is 'Basak'. Could you comment on that? Is it mythological perhaps? 

The kafa word is strange to me. I suppose the best thing is not to focus on this _skull _concept. It seems strange though that it seems to have both a pos. and a neg. meaning. It does remind me of Greek 'kefalos'. But is the basic meaning really skull, the hard, boney protection of the brains?


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## Rallino

They are all derivations. Some of them, like_ başak_, are formed with obsolete suffixes, I'm not sure of their etymology.

Kafa is not exactly skull. We say kafatası (lit. headbowl) for that.  But in some contexts we use 'kafa', in others we use 'baş', and both are translated as 'head'.


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## ThomasK

I see. Kafa acts like a kind of metonymy then, I guess... I do not recognize that phenomenon in Dutch, or I do, yes (!): we have the word *kop*, which is often a colloquial, even negative form of _head/ hoofd, _and indeed, we can say that someone is a *stomkop*, a stupid head literally. I might or ought to start a separate thread perhaps about that, as there are numerous words with _kop_, such as *koppig, *headstrong, stubborn, etc. (Great, thanks !)


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## Encolpius

*magyar *

fej = head
fejes = VIP, top dog
kifejez verb = express
befejez verb = finish, end
fejedelem = reigning prince
fejezet = chapter, division
and many compounds


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## arielipi

In hebrew 'head'(as in body part) is strictly used for:
1) body part head.
2) first in line/queue/etc.
3) organizer/administrator/manager.

There are derivatives of that, ראשי rashi = main, for instance, main course.
ראשון rishon = first/sunday.
ראשן roshan = frog first stage(before it is a frog and the thing before that).

And other things related to firstness.


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## Dymn

Catalan:

_cap_: boss
_cap_: no, any
_cap_: towards
_cap d’any _“head of year”: New Year’s day
_cap de setmana _“head of week”: week-end
_caparrut_: stubborn
_capbuit_ “empty-headed”: empty-headed
_capbussar-se_: to dive, plunge
_capçada_: crown (of a tree)
_capçal_: part of a bed where one puts the head
_capell_: hat
_captenir-se _(_tenir _“to hold, have”): to behave
_caputxa_: hood
_capvespre _(_vespre _“evening”): dusk, (Mallorca) afternoon
_encaparrar-se_: “to worry”
_escapçar_: “to crop”
_fer cap a _“to do head to”: to end up somewhere
_maldecap_ “ache-of-head”: headache (figurative: problem, worry)


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## ThomasK

I am quite impressed at all those associations, but in particular the ones below. To some in bold I added a note or extra question:





Diamant7 said:


> Catalan:
> 
> *cap: no, any (really? Do you then say: I have cap money?)
> cap: towards (// ENG heading for, I suppose)*
> _cap d’any _“head of year”: New Year’s day
> _cap de setmana _“head of week”: week-end
> _capbuit_ “empty-headed”: empty-headed
> *capbussar-se: to dive, plunge (do you need an empty head to dive ?)*
> _capçada_: crown (of a tree)
> *capell: hat*
> _captenir-se _(_tenir _“to hold, have”): to behave
> _caputxa_: hood
> *capvespre (vespre “evening”): dawn, (Mallorca) afternoon (but dawn as the beginning of evening? Intriguing!)
> encaparrar-se: “to worry” (we also associate worries with the head)
> escapçar: “to crop” (something like plants creating a head?)*
> _fer cap a _“to do head to”: to end up somewhere
> *maldecap “ache-of-head”: headache (figurative: problem, worry) (we have 'kopbrekens' (headbreakings) for "worries")*


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## 810senior

In Japanese,
_atama, kashira, zu, kabu_: a head
The commonest word that means a head is _atama(_頭, written in kanji_)_, whereas the others are mainly used as an affix to other words or as a difference definition like a _kashira_ that also refers to a boss, a chief.

Derivations:
_atama-uchi_: a plateau (lit.head-hit)
_atama-kazu_: a number of people (lit.head-number)
_atama-kara_: from the beginning; flatly, once and for all (lit. from the head)
_atama-goshi_: over the head; without consultation (lit. over the head)
_atama-kin_: a deposiit (lit. a head-money)
_kashira_: a boss
_-gashira_: (along with a verb) from the moment that, no sooner than e.g. _deai-gashira_(as soon as we meet)
_kashira-gaki_: a heading, a headnote, the above-mentioned (lit. head-writing)
_kashira-moji_: an initial, a capital letter (lit. head-letter)
kashira-datsu: to rank above, to stand at the top (lit. to head-stand)
_kashira-bun_: a boss
_kashira-yaku_: a top person, a chief, a head (lit. a head-role)
_ishi-atama_: a hard skull, the pigheaded (lit. stone-head)
_kasegi-gashira_: a breadwinner (lit. earning-head)
_zu-kin_: a hood (lit. head-fabric)
_on-do_: Ondo, an act of(or a person) firstly singing to the rhythm so others can sing; a genre of Japanese folk music (lit. sound-head)
_on-do-dori_: a leader of some event (lit. ondo-taker)
_kou-tou_: orally (lit. mouth-head)

Phrasal verbs:
_atama-ga-itai_: to be worried about (lit. the head aches)
_atama-ga-omoi_: something's unclear, fuzzy (lit. the head is heavy)
_atama-ga-katai_: to be thickheaded, stubborn (lit. the head is thick)
_atama-ga-kireru_: to be clever, smart (lit. the head is cut off)
_atama-ga-sagaru_: to be surprised or impressed over (lit. the head is hung down)
_atama-ga-hikui_: to be humbled (lit. the head is in low position)
_atama-ga-furui_: to be old-fashioned, superannuated (lit. the head is old)
_atama-ni-ireru_: to bear(keep) in mind (lit. to put inside the head)
_atama-ni-kuru_: to be irritated, to rage (lit. to come to the head)
_atama-wo-sageru_: to deeply apologize (lit. to lower the head)
_atama-wo-shiboru_: to contemplate (lit. to squeeze the head)
_atama-wo-tsukau_: to think (lit. use the head)
_atama-wo-hineru_: to invent, to puzzle about (lit. to twist the head)
_atama-wo-hiyasu_: to chill out (lit. to cool down the head)
_ondo-wo-toru_: to call the tune (lit. to take the Ondo)
_zu-ga-takai_: to be impolite, rude, disrespectful (lit. the head is high)

Listed it up by looking up the dictionary; hope this helped.


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## twinklestar

head =tou in Chinese

头＝head, boss/leader
For prefix

头脑：head brain
头发：head hair
头次：head time = first time
头疼：headache
头像：head image = image of head
头晕：head dizzy
头= for behing classifier for the count of animals. e.g. a head of cow 一头牛

For suffix:

  山头 mountain head
  笔头 the tip of pen
  布头 the remnant of cloth
  剃头 shave head (literally in Chinese, but it is not shave) = have a haircut, generally for men.
I probably can go on and on, and on...

There is also an archiac Chinese character for head-首

EDIT: probably I should not have used "prefix" and 'suffix" as they are compound words, however I think it is easy to illustrate.


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## ThomasK

@JAPANESE --- Amazing: four words for 'head'. We only have (need ;-)) two.

In general I am baffled by these words, but only because they are so new and different. I only "recognize" boss, capital, heading, maybe principal (ceps = head), and then bearing in mind, worries, thickheaded (pig-headed).

@ Chinese --- Again other associations, and apparently you could go on. I am impressed because with a lot of _head_-suffix words, we might think of *tip, point, top*, as the far/ high/ extreme end of something. And I suppose a head is like an end of something.  Yet, I cannot see a link between anything like 'head' in my language and the remnants of cloth... As for the _head-_prefix words, I can see lots of parallels.

The interesting thing is: those associations give us *"a broader head", er, mind*! Thanks!


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## Dymn

@ThomasK

- Well, we don't say _cap money _because "money" is uncountable in Catalan, but you got the idea. For example _No tinc cap germana _"I don't have any sister". I also
find a bit of a semantic gap but DCVB (the "official" etymological dictionary) says _cap _meaning "any" comes from _cap _meaning "head", so let's believe it.

- Yes, it's similar to English _heading for_, it's a very common preposition.

- _Capbuit _and _capbussar _are totally unrelated (apart from _cap_, of course). _Buit _is "empty" (cf. _void_) and _capbussar _comes from _cabussar _(voicing of /p/ + suffix _-ussar_).

- I don't know what is your doubt about _capell _(cf. French _chapeau_ and Italian _cappello_).

- I didn't mean _dawn_ sorry, but _dusk_, I suppose now it makes more sense. As you may have noticed _cap _is used in many compounds meaning "beginning" or "end".

- I suppose this is the idea about _escapçar_. Perhaps it comes from _capçal_.


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## sound shift

Thomas,

Your "koppig" is our "headstrong" (which also means "eigenzinnig").


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## Medune

caput(lat.)---->cabeça(pt.)

capítulo (chapter)
capítula (brief lesson from the breviary (religious))
capitular ( capitulate/related to a capitulum)
cabeçudo(big-headed)
cabeção (a wide collar/halter/big-headed)
cabecinha (diminutive)/cabeçorra/cabeçona (augmentatives)
cabeçada (a header, pass made with the head)
cabelo (head hair)
cabeçalho (a header(of the text))
recapitular (recapitulate) 
encabeçar (to lead, to head)
cabeceira (headboard)
cabecear (to nod)
chapéu (hat)

caput(lat.)---->chef (fr.)--->chefe(pt.)


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## ThomasK

@ Sound Shift: you're right, had not thought of that. I like "pig-headed" as well!

@Daimant7: thanks for the extra explanation! I suddenly thought of _*cape*_; that seems related to _head_ as well... I had no doubts about 'hat', but had never thought of the link. We only have _*hoofddeksel*, head_ cover, but no derivation like yours and the French word. But 'dusk' does make much more sense, indeed!


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## 810senior

No one would disagree it is very nice to know any words in the thread.
I'm surprised as well that some languages including Japanese have the idiom _from the head_ in common, which refers to an equivalent of _from the beginning(start) _or something similar else e.g. _all over again_ in Turkish; I particularly like to know this kind of thing.


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## ThomasK

Rallino said:


> Turkish:
> *Başka* - other
> *Başak* - ear of grain ; Virgo (astrology)


@Rallino: I don't know whether Rallino is still around, but after reading the Catalan, Japanese and Chinese words, I begin to wonder - four year later - about these two words. The second one reminds me of Catalan (cropping) but I cannot understand the link between "other" and "head"...

@810senior: English knows the word "headstart"... _(Just imagine a "tailstart"; that could be unpleasant due to lack of eyes on our tail! --- Just trying to be funny...)
_
@Medune: what is a headboard? I suppose _cabecinha_ literally means "little head", or doesn't it?


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## igusarov

ThomasK, there are so many head-derived words that I couldn't recall and list all of them... Here are some interesting ones:

"голова" = "head"

"головастик" = "a tadpole". Well, its head is the first thing you see, when you see one.
"головоногий" = "cephalopod". Literally "headlegged".
"головокружение" = noun, "vertigo", "dizziness". Literally "headcircling".
"головокружительный" = adj. "exciting", derived from the previous word.
"головоломка = "a puzzle", "brainteaser". Literally "headbreaker".
"уголовник" = "a criminal". Etymology is quite surprising: head --> being killed --> someone who committed the killing --> anyone who committed a serious crime.
"головорез" = "a cutthroat". Literally "headcutter".
"головотяпа" = "a bungler". Literally "headbanger".
"главенствовать" = "to dominate".
"поголовно" = adv. "everyone without exception". Literally "perheadly".
"наголову" = adv. "utterly", in the context of military victory/defeat. Literally "byhead". To a native ear, this word sounds like "headabove" the enemy.
"головня" = piece of burning charcoal or a log.
"главарь" = "leader" in the negative context, "ringleader".
"болиголов" = "hemlock", plant. Literally "achehead".
"головомойка" = a severe scolding. Literally "headwashing".
"тупоголовый" = adj. a thick person. Literally "bluntheaded". Though "sharp" is not a common synonym  for "smart" in Russian, "blunt" is a very common word for "stupid".
"оглавление" = noun, "a table of contents". This word sounds like "a-chaptering" to native ear.


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## 810senior

@twinklestar, I found out 頭脳(头脑), 頭髪(头发), 头(頭 as a classifier), 山头(山頭), 剃頭(剃头) get across to Japanese as well.


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## Dymn

igusarov said:


> "главарь" = "leader" in the negative context, "ringleader".


It reminds me of Italian _capo _"Mafia leader", also obviously related to "head"


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## ThomasK

Russian has nice metaphors, I'd say!


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## Sardokan1.0

*In Sardinian :*

*Conca - *head - from Latin "Concha" (Vase)
*Cabu* *- *head  (just used in metaphorical way) - Latin "Caput";  example : cuss'homine est chena cabu (literally "that man is headless") - it means "that man is a fool"
*Cabu *it's also a synonymous of Leader, Boss

*Derivates :*

*Concudu - *big headed, stubborn
*Concone - *big head
*Concale *- big head (speaking about animals)
*Concuzza *- little head
*Conchedda *- literally means "little head", but it's used as synonymous of "undisciplined, unruly"
*Cónculu *- bowl
*Cábere, Cápere* - To Contain
*Cabidale, Capidale*, *Capitale *- pillow
*Capitulu *- chapter
*Capitta - *bed headboard
*Cabone, Capone* - slice, wedge of a fruit (in Italian "spicchio")
*Cabidanni, Capidanni, Cabudanni *- September (Lat. "Caput Anni", in the Julian Calendar the year began in September; still nowadays farmers and breeders in their work use September as first month)
*Iscabàdu - *thoughtless


p.s.

About the verbs *achieve/ achever, *I think that they are related to the Latin "Accipere"; among the various meanings there are "to learn, know, understand, acquire"; in Sardinian the verb is "Acchipìre" (to succeed); the "chi" is pronounced "Ki", using the Classical pronounce


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## Nawaq

*Français:
*
Head : _tête_, from Latin _testa
_
I don't know if you mean any derivations, incuding expressions, if yes, there's a ton of them..

_Entêter, entêtement,_ "to be stubborn, to persist", _un air entêtant,_ "something (music, word etc) that stay in the head"
_Entête, en-tête_ "header (in a letter, a page etc)
_Tête-à-tête,_ "face to face"
_Casse-tête,_ "a puzzle, brainteaser, a problem, a struggle"
_A tue-tête,_ "at the top of their lungs"
_Perdre la tête,_ "lose one's mind"
_Repose-tête,_ "headrest"
_Serre-tête,_ "headband"
_Têtard,_ "tadpole"
_Têtu_ (Thomas said it), "stubborn"
_Tête en l'air,_ "distracted"
_Tête à claques,_ "blighter"
_Coupe-tête,_ "executioner, the one who behead"
_Coup de tête,_ aka _coup de boule,_ "headbutt"
Chef-d'oeuvre, "masterpiece"
Couvre-chef, "headhear, hat"
Chapiteau, "circus tent"
Chef-lieu, (in the administration of France, the capital of a place) "le chef-lieu de Bourgogne"
_Capituler, capitulation, récapitulatif, chapelle (?), chaperon(ne)_ ...

_
_


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## SuperXW

twinklestar said:


> head =tou in Chinese
> 
> 头＝head, boss/leader
> For prefix
> 
> 头脑：head brain
> 头发：head hair
> 头次：head time = first time
> 头疼：headache
> 头像：head image = image of head
> 头晕：head dizzy
> 头= for behing classifier for the count of animals. e.g. a head of cow 一头牛
> 
> For suffix:
> 
> 山头 mountain head
> 笔头 the tip of pen
> 布头 the remnant of cloth
> 剃头 shave head (literally in Chinese, but it is not shave) = have a haircut, generally for men.
> I probably can go on and on, and on...
> 
> There is also an archiac Chinese character for head-首
> 
> EDIT: probably I should not have used "prefix" and 'suffix" as they are compound words, however I think it is easy to illustrate.


I don't think we need to list all these compound words, as many of them have a sub-structure like a phrase. I summarized them in this way:

头:
*Basic meaning: head;
Developed meaning: first, important, tip, top, front, ahead, leader, hairstyle.*
头次 head-time = first time
头等 head-class = first class
笔头 pen-head = pen tip
山头 mountain-head = mountain top
前头 front-head = front, ahead
他剪了什么头？ What head did he cut? = What hairstyle did he cut?
他是头儿 He is the head = he is the leader/boss.

首:
*Basic meaning: head (more literary);
Developed meaning: first, important.*
首脑 head-brain = (countries') leader
首要 head-important = most important
首先 head-firstly = firstly


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## ThomasK

That is a very interesting angle indeed, SuperXW. I'd also think of something like "metaphorical" meaning. (Too bad by the way I get no answers to my similar question on "fat")


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## 123xyz

Macedonian:

*глава* (glava) - head
*главица* (glavica) - bulb, head (for vegetables, e.g. head of cabbage)
*поглавар, главатар* (glavatar) - chieftain, tribal leader
*зглавје* (zglavje; very literary) - pillow
*главуч* (glavuč) - big-headed person (pejorative)
*главоболка* (glavobolka) - headache
*главоног* (glavonog) - cephalopod
*заглави, се заглави* (zaglavi, se zaglavi) - lodge, get stuck
*одглави, се одглави* (odglavi, se odglavi) - dislodge, come unstuck
*обезглави* (obezglavi) - behead, decapitate
*двоглав *(dvoglav) - bicephalous
*белоглав* (beloglav) - white-headed (you can add adjectives with the combinative interfix "-о-" to the stem "глав" to get other similar adjectives - this derivation pattern is pretty productive in Macedonian, although it results in poetic words)
*тврдоглав *(tvrdoglav) - stubborn, lit. hard-headed (it's derived from the pattern described above, but in this case, lexicalization has taken place)
*празноглав* - stupid, lit. empty-headed (lexicalized, same as above)
*своеглав *(svoeglav) - unruly, wayward, stubborn, lit. own-headed
*главен* (glaven) - main, principal, chief


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## franknagy

Encolpius said:


> *magyar *
> 
> fej = head
> fejes = VIP, top dog
> kifejez verb = express
> befejez verb = finish, end
> fejedelem = reigning prince
> fejezet = chapter, division
> and many compounds


Some more Hungarian words:
fejetlenség = disorder
fejel = to goose
tökfej = squash+head = dolt
seggfej = ass+head = asshole
lábasfejű = leg+ head = cephalopods
vízfejű = hydrocephalic
vízfej = excess of clerks in an office
bőrfejű = skinhead
kutyafejű = dog+headed = permanent marker of Tartars
önfejű = self+headed = obstinate
lefejez = to behead


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## ilocas2

ilocas2 said:


> Zhlaví is this: http://vlak.interregion.cz/trate/040/dopravny/nova_paka/nova_paka_11.jpg



the link is dead, so I'm posting a picture


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## franknagy

ilocas2 said:


> Zhlaví is this: http://vlak.interregion.cz/trate/040/dopravny/nova_paka/nova_paka_11.jpg


*Fejállomás* is used in Hunagrian railwaymen's professional argo.


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