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headmaster

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Etymology and origin of the English word headmaster

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
c. 1545 J. Bale, Image of Both Churches
Ultimate origins
Proto-Germanic *haubudOld English mægester
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Old English heafod
English head
English headmaster
From the same root
English ahead ← head
English dickhead ← head
English headphone ← head
English redhead ← head

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈhɛdˌmɑːstə/[1]
  • US: /ˈhɛdˌmæstɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English head + master,[2][3][4][5] with head in its adjectival sense "chief".[3] The OED compares the earlier schoolmaster.[2] Head goes back to Old English hēafod,[3] and master to Old English mægester, from Latin magister (“chief, head, teacher”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A principal or chief master in various senses: c. 1545, in J. Bale's Image of Both Churches.[2]

Semantic evolution

The school sense, the man in charge of a school, is recorded from 1576, in A. Fleming's translation of Ravisius,[2][4] and Etymonline and Dictionary.com date the word to the 1570s.[3][5] It is chiefly British;[2] in the United States it is used mainly for the head of a private school.[4] A verb headmaster, to teach or rule like a headmaster, appears in 1869, in H. Kingsley's Stretton.[2] Collins gives head teacher as the gender-neutral term, beside headmistress.[6][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1545 – a principal or chief master.[2]
  • 1576 – the man who is head teacher of a school.[2][4]
  • 1869 – verb, to teach or govern as a headmaster.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A man who is the head of a school, especially in Britain: The headmaster read out the prize winners.[6][4][2]
  2. In the United States, a man who heads a private school.[4]

Verb

  1. (rare) To teach or govern as a headmaster, or to treat someone as a headmaster treats pupils.[2]

Word family

  • headmasterly
  • headmastership
  • headmistress
  • schoolmaster

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Headmaster.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/headmaster. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·