headword

Examples

• All

• In a dictionary, the headword is usually written in bold to indicate the main entry.

• That being the case, as Randolph Quirk et al. show, once writers have produced nominalizations, they can use the nominalizations as the headwords in noun phrases that can be indefinitely long.

  Academic text (2003)

• Students often look up the headword to find its definition and usage examples.

Synonyms

L

lemma

vsheadword

• Specialized

1 8.1

The main word at the top of a dictionary entry

is the visible bold label used to mark the full dictionary entry

C

citation form

vsheadword

• Texting

1 7.5

The basic form of a word that a dictionary lists

is the bold label readers see, usually matching that chosen reference form

H

head word

vsheadword

• Specialized

6.3

The main word in a group of words that other words describe

is the printed bold label at the start of a dictionary entry

M

main entry word

vsheadword

• Jargon

6.0

The word shown at the top of a dictionary page to find information

is the bold heading shown to readers, not only the organizational form

E

entry word

vsheadword

• Jargon

4.7

The main word shown as the heading in a dictionary

is the bolded display at the entry start rather than merely a listed form

D

definiendum

vsheadword

• Specialized

9.9

A word or phrase that a dictionary entry explains

is the bold heading used to label the whole dictionary entry rather than a definition alone

How Detailed

lexical entry

• Specialized

6.7

word form

• Specialized

4.1

headword

• Specialized

6.3

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology