head
/hed/·헤드·noun, verb
the top of the body; to lead
Old EnglishCEFR A1
Root
Proto-Germanic '*haubudą' (head)
PIE *kauput → Proto-Germanic *haubudą → Old English hēafod → Middle English hed → Modern head
In a word
PIE *kauput — sibling to Latin caput (capital, captain). The same meaning split: head on the Germanic branch, cap- on the Latin branch. "Head of department" is a metaphor from the body's top — that intuition is unchanged across 5,000 years. German Haupt (chief, principal) shares the root.
Examples
I bumped my head on the door.
We're heading home.
She is the head of the department.
Related
headlineheadacheforeheadaheadheader