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Origin and history of heading

heading(n.)

c. 1300, "a beheading," from present participle of head (v.). Meaning "an advancing in a certain direction" is from c. 1600. Meaning "title at the head of a portion of text" is from 1849.

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to heading

head(v.)

"to be at the head or in the lead," c. 1200, from head (n.). Meaning "to direct the head (toward)" is from c. 1600. Related: headed, heading. The earliest use of the word as a verb meant "behead" (Old English heafdian). Verbal phrase head up "supervise, direct" is attested by 1930.

letter-head(n.)

also letterhead, "sheet of paper with a printed or engraved logo or address," 1868, short for letterheading (1867); from letter (n.1) + heading (n.) in the printing sense. So called because it was printed at the "head" of the sheet of paper.

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    drift
    early 14c., literally "a being driven" (at first of snow, rain, etc.); not recorded in Old English, it is either a suffixed form of drive (v.) (compare thrift/thrive) or borrowed from Old Norse drift "snow drift," or Middle Dutch drift "pasturage, drove, flock," both from Proto-G
    gallery
    mid-15c., "covered walk or passageway, narrow and partly open passageway along a wall," from Old French galerie "a long portico" (14c.), from Medieval Latin galeria, of unknown origin. Perhaps an alteration of galilea "church porch," which is probably from Latin Galilaea "Galilee
    aim
    c. 1300, "to estimate (number or size), calculate, count," senses now obsolete, from Old French aesmer, esmer (Old North French amer) "to value, rate; count, estimate," ultimately from Latin aestimare "appraise, determine the value of" (see esteem (v.)). The meaning in English ap
    title
    c. 1300, "inscription, heading," from Old French title "title or chapter of a book; position; legal permit" (12c., Modern...titre, by dissimilation), and in part from Old English titul, both from Latin titulus "inscription, label, ticket, placard, heading...
    tilde
    stroke over an abridged word to indicate missing letters," a specialized sense of Latin titulus, literally "inscription, heading...
    headline
    1670s, from head (n.) in sense "heading of a book or chapter" (c. 1200) + line (n.)....
    capitulation
    capitulare "to draw up in heads or chapters," hence "arrange conditions," from capitulum "chapter," in classical Latin "heading...
    direction
    late 14c., direccioun, "action of directing or guiding," from Latin directionem (nominative directio) "a making straight, a straight line, a directing (toward something)," noun of action from past-participle stem of dirigere "to set straight, arrange; give a particular direction
    sheer
    c. 1200, "exempt, free from guilt" (as in Sheer Thursday, the Thursday of Holy Week, the day before the Crucifixion); later schiere "thin, sparse" (c. 1400), a variant of skere, from late Old English scir "bright, clear, gleaming; translucent; pure, unmixed." The Middle English w
    captain
    late 14c., capitayn, "a leader, chief, one who stands at the head of others," from Old French capitaine "captain, leader," from Late Latin capitaneus "chief," noun use of adjective capitaneus "prominent, chief," from Latin caput (genitive capitis) "head" (from PIE root *kaput- "h

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