headsman

English

noun
Definitions
  • (obsolete) A chief person; a head man
  • An executioner whose method of dispatching the condemned is decapitation.
  • (mining) A labourer in a colliery who transports the coal from the workings to the horseway, and who is oftentimes assisted by a younger worker called a foal.
  • (nautical) One in command of a whaling vessel.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English heddysman affix from English head (-hood, noun, hood, foremost, or leading part, topmost, suffix indicating a fan enthusiast).

Origin

English

head

Gloss

-hood, noun, hood, foremost, or leading part, topmost, suffix indicating a fan enthusiast

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms