Headword

Headword

A headword, head word, lemma, or sometimes catchword is the word under which a set of related dictionary or encyclopaedia entries appears. The headword is used to locate the entry, and dictates its alphabetical position. Depending on the size and nature of the dictionary or encyclopedia, the entry may include alternative meanings of the word, its etymology and pronunciation, compound words or phrases that contain the headword, and encyclopedic information about the concepts represented by the word.

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 Academic Dictionary of Lithuanian contains around 500,000 headwords. The Oxford English Dictionary has around 300,000 headwords [http://www.oed.com/about/facts.html] , while Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary has about 470,000 [http://www.merriam-webster.com/premium/mwunabridged/] . Both of these values are as claimed by the dictionary makers, and may not be using exactly the same definition of a headword. Also, the Oxford English Dictionary covers each word much more exhaustively than the Third New International.

The term 'lemma' comes from the practice in Greco-Roman antiquity of using the word to refer to the headwords of marginal glosses in scholia; for this reason, the Ancient Greek plural form is sometimes used, namely "lemmata" (Greek λῆμμα, pl. λήμματα).


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  • headword — n. 1. a word that is qualified by a modifier. [WordNet 1.5] 2. a word placed at the beginning of a line, paragraph, or short article (as in a dictionary or encyclopedia entry); the word which forms the title of an entry in a dictionary. [WordNet… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • headword — ► NOUN ▪ a word which begins a separate entry in a reference work …   English terms dictionary

  • headword — [hed′wʉrd΄] n. 1. a word or phrase that is a heading for a paragraph, chapter, etc. 2. Linguis. a word functioning as a head in a structure …   English World dictionary

  • headword — main entry word main entry word n. The form of a word that heads a lexical entry and is alphabetized in a dictionary; also called {entry word}, {headword}, and {lemma}. Syn: citation form, entry word, headword, lemma. [WordNet 1.5] Note: In… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • headword — UK [ˈhedˌwɜː(r)d] / US [ˈhedˌwɜrd] noun [countable] Word forms headword : singular headword plural headwords one of the list of words in a dictionary that is followed by an explanation of what it means …   English dictionary

  • headword — noun /ˈhɛdwɜːd,ˈhɛdwɝd/ a) a word used as the title of a section, particularly in a dictionary, encyclopedia, or thesaurus In a very discerning car shopper , shopper is the headword. b) any word which may be modified by an …   Wiktionary

  • headword — [[t]he̱dwɜː(r)d[/t]] headwords N COUNT In a dictionary, a headword is a word which is followed by an explanation of its meaning …   English dictionary

  • headword — noun Date: circa 1823 1. a word or term placed at the beginning (as of a chapter or an entry in an encyclopedia) 2. head 19 …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • headword — /hed werrd /, n. 1. a word, phrase, or the like, appearing as the heading of a chapter, dictionary or encyclopedia entry, etc. 2. catchword (def. 2). 3. head (def. 26). [1815 25; HEAD + WORD] * * * …   Universalium

  • headword — head|word [ˈhedwə:d US wə:rd] n technical one of the words whose meaning is explained in a dictionary …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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