Definition
The main word that begins an entry in a dictionary or encyclopedia, printed in bold or larger type.
Etymology
From 'head' (chief, principal) and 'word.' Created in the late 1800s as dictionaries became more standardized and needed terminology to describe their organizational structure.
Kelly Says
Headwords are fascinating because they reveal how language experts make judgments about what counts as 'a word'—whether slang, abbreviations, or variant spellings deserve their own entries shapes how the next generation learns language!
Translations
AMአማርኛ
መንገድ ቃል
men-ged qal
ARالعربية
كلمة رئيسية
kalimat ra'isiyyah
BNবাংলা
প্রধান শব্দ
prodhān shobdo
CACatalà
paraula clau
pa-ra-u-la klau
CSČeština
hlavní slovo
hlav-ni slo-vo
DADansk
hovedord
ho-ved-ord
DEDeutsch
Hauptwort
haupt-vorht
ELΕλληνικά
κλειδί
klee-di
ESEspañol
palabra clave
pal-ah-brah klah-veh
FAفارسی
کلمه کلیدی
ke-lemeh kloo-dee
FISuomi
pääsana
pä-sä-sa-na
FRFrançais
mot-clé
mo-kle
GUGU
મુખ્ય શબ્દ
mu-kha-ya sha-bd
HAHA
kalmar mafi
ka-lumar ma-fi
HEעברית
מילה מפתח
milah me-ta-peh
HIहिन्दी
मुख्य शब्द
mukh-ya shabd
IDBahasa Indonesia
kata kunci
ka-ta kunci
ITItaliano
parola chiave
pa-ro-la klee-veh
KMKM
ពាក្យសំខាន់
pea-ak-sahn-khahn
MRMR
मुख्य शब्द
mukhya shabd
MSBahasa Melayu
kata kunci
ka-ta kunci
MYမြန်မာ
ကျယ်ပြန့် စကား
kyai-pya-n-t ska-war
NLNederlands
hoofdwoord
hoofd-woord
NONorsk
hovedord
ho-ved-ord
PAPA
ਮੁੱਖ ਸ਼ਬਦ
mukkh shabd
PLPolski
główne słowo
głów-ne swo-wo
PTPortuguês
termo principal
ter-moh prin-si-pal
RORomână
cuvânt cheie
cu-vânt kye
RUРусский
главное слово
glav-noye slo-vo
SVSvenska
huvudord
hoo-vud-ord
SWKiswahili
neno muhimu
ne-no im-fu-mu
TAதமிழ்
முக்கிய சொல்
mu-kkiya sol
TEతెలుగు
ముఖ్య పదం
mu-kha-ya pa-dam
TLTL
salitang pangunahing
sa-li-tang pang-un-ah-ing
TRTürkçe
başlık kelimesi
baş-lık ke-li-mesi
UKУкраїнська
головне слово
hlovne slovo
URاردو
مُصطلحات رئيسية
muṣṭarḥāt raʾisiyyah
VITiếng Việt
từ khóa
tu khoá
ZUZU
i-gama elimu
i-ga-ma e-li-mu