headword

• head word

From head +‎ word. Compare West Frisian haadwurd (“noun, substantive, headword”), Dutch hoofdwoord (“headword”), German Hauptwort (“noun, substantive, headword”), Swedish huvudord (“headword, keyword”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhɛdwɜːd/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhɛdwɝd/

headword (plural headwords)

1. A word (or compound term) used as the title of a list entry or section, particularly in a dictionary, encyclopedia, or thesaurus.

   Coordinate terms: heading, head, subheading, subhead, rubric

   Hypernym: definiendum

   Hyponym: lemma

2. (grammar) Any word which may be modified by an adjunct; often, the core noun of a noun phrase.

   Synonym: head

   In "a very discerning car shopper", "shopper" is the headword.

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