😵 Dizzy feeling 🔤 Main element 🦉 Having a head

headedness

8.2

A clear head area on an animal, like in a dog or bird

noun
/ˈhɛdɪdnəs/

Specialized

: cefalización

The study of evolutionary biology often includes discussions of headedness as a significant factor in species development.
long headedness

Examples

The text describes the longstanding custom of the legendary macrocephalics to bind the heads of babies to produce long-headedness.

Academic text (1993)
However, when the macrocephalics abandoned the custom of skull deformation, the long-headedness trait faded, according to the Hippocratic physician.

Academic text (1993)
After a long time, the early physician believed that long-headedness became hereditary, just like baldness or blue eyes, and binding was no longer constantly required.

Academic text (1993)
The long evolutionary history of some species is marked by a distinct headedness that influences their behavior and survival.
Many animals exhibit a type of headedness that is an adaptation to their environment, affecting how they interact with predators.

Surface Forms

headedness singular

headednesses plural

Morphology

headedness = headed (transparent) = head + ed + ness

Clearly a nominalization of the adjective 'headed' meaning 'having a head'; learners who know 'head' and adjectival '-ed' plus nominalizing '-ness' can derive this meaning.

Etymology

Headedness comes from head + -ed + -ness, meaning the 'state of having a head'. In biology this shows the idea of a clear head where the senses and brain sit, which is why scientists use 'headedness' for animals that have a distinct head region.