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head·er (hĕdər)
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n.
1. One that fits a head on an object.
2. One that removes a head from an object, especially a machine that reaps the heads of grain and passes them into a wagon or receptacle.
3. A pipe that serves as a central connection for two or more smaller pipes.
4. A floor or roof beam placed between two long beams that supports the ends of the tailpieces.
5. A brick or stone laid at a right angle to the face of a wall so that only its short end is showing. Also called bonder.
6. Informal A headlong dive or fall.
7. Sports A pass or shot made in soccer by heading the ball.
8. Textual information, such as a title, date, or page number, positioned in the top margin of a page and usually repeated throughout a document.
9. A raised tank or hopper that maintains a constant pressure or supply to a system, especially the small tank that supplies water to a central heating system.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.