head
The upper part of the body containing the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
Etymology
From Old English hēafod, from Proto-Germanic *haubudą. This traces to PIE *kaput-, meaning "head." The Latin reflex caput gave English words like "captain," "capital," and "chapter."
The Journey: *kaput- → head
*kaput-
*haubudą
hēafod
head
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *kaput-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | kephalḗ |
| Latin | caput |
| Welsh | pen |
| Sanskrit | kapucchalá- |
| Old Irish | cenn |
Did You Know?
Latin caput gave English "capital" (the head city), "captain" (head of a group), "chapter" (originally a heading), and even "cattle" (head of livestock, i.e. chief property).
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *kaput-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.