headline

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈhɛd.laɪn/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is from head, in the sense heading of a book or chapter, and line.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A printer's term for the line at the top of a page with the title and page number: the 1670s in Etymonline, 1676 in the OED.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In nautical use a headline is a rope fastening a sail to the yard, from late Middle English,^[4] and a line fastening the head of a vessel to the shore from 1876.^[5] The title of a newspaper article is from 1890,^[2] and headlines, important news, from 1908.^[2] In broadcasting, a summary of the main news is from 1908,^[5] and headlinese, the language of headlines, from 1927.^[2] The verb, to give a headline to, is from 1860, and to be the main performer from 1906.^[3]

Timeline

• 1676 – a running title.^[5]
• 1860 – to headline (verb).^[3]
• 1890 – a newspaper headline.^[2]
• 1908 – the headlines.^[2]
• 1927 – headlinese.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The title of a newspaper article, printed in large type.
2. (headlines) The main points of a news broadcast, or important news.
3. A line at the top of a page giving the title and page number.

Verb

1. To give a headline to.
2. To be the main performer at a show or festival.

Word family

• scarehead
• headliner

Related words

• head
• line
• heading

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press