head-word 2753 
head-word (hed' werd), . A word put as a title heal 1 * (hel), n. [Also dial, hale ; < ME. hele, < 
"-"- *- -* AS. hSlu, halo, health, safety, salvation, < hal, 
whole: see heal 1 , v., and of. health.] Health; 
well-being. 
In our chapitre praye we day and night 
To Christ that he the sende hele. 
(and printed usually in a distinctive type) at 
the head of a paragraph, as the words in full- 
face at the beginning of the several articles in 
this dictionary ; a title-word; a word constitut- 
ing a heading or a side-head, 
head-work (hed'werk), H. 1. Mental or intel- 
lectual labor. 
He had the perseverance, the capability for head-work 
Well are they fed, well are they clad, 
And live in heal and weal. 
Fair Annie (Child's Ballads, III. 387). 
health 
2. Cure ; the means of making whole. 
Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteous- 
ness arise with healiny in his wings. Mai. ir. 2. 
A light of healing glanced about the couch. 
Tennyson, Princess, vii. 
healing 1 (he'ling), p. . Curing; curative; re- 
ive ; soothing. 
Everv virtuous plant and healing herb. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 621. 
and calculation, the steadiness and general forethought, 12 /, an , rAlsn Aw/fsfiR def 2C61V<ME 
which might have made him a great merchant if he had heal- 1 (hel), V. t. LAlso heel see i Her. ^ WJj^ 
lived in a large city. Mrs. Gaskell, Sylvia's Lovers, xxxi. helen, Inlen, < AS. helan (pret. htel, pi. nailon, pp. 
To this ideational adjustment may be referred most of 
the strain and " head splitting " connected with recollect- 
ine reflecting, and all that people call head-work. 
J. Ward, Encyc. Brit., XX. 59. 
holen) = OS. helan = OFries. hela = D. helen = 
MLG. helen = OHG. helan, MHG. heln, G. fahtet, 
cover, conceal, = L. celare, cover, conceal (in 
comp. concelare, > ult. E. conceal, q. v.), akin to 
2. In arch., the heads and other ornaments on 
the keystone of an arch. 
head-worker (hed ' wer " ker), n. 1 . One who 
works with his head or brain, as distinguished are ^ nof(j neu ^ lul w, -, n~, uie-, /..-, 
from one who does physical labor, ^Specifically j lo ii ow l ! helm 2 , etc.] If. To hide; conceal; keep _ [Prov. Eng.] 
secret. 
Mordre is so wlatsom and abhominable 
To God, that is so just and respnable, 
That he ne wol nought snore it hiled be. 
Chaucer, Nun's Priest's Tale, 1. 235. 
Eve, 
As one who loves, and some unkindness meets, 
With sweet austere composure thus replied : . . . 
To whom with healing words Adam replied. 
Milton, P. L., ix. 290. 
Much, however, must still have been left to the healiny 
influence of time. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. 
The healing art, the art of medicine. 
. , 
occulere, hide (> ult. E. occult, q. v.), to cella, a healing 2 (he'ling), n. [< ME. helinge, hilinge, 
hut, cell (> ult. E. cell, q. v.), to Gr. KaMirTetv, covering; verbal n. of heal 2 , v. Cf. equiv. hill- 
cover, conceal, etc. From the same Teut. root ing.'] A covering. Specifically (a) The covering 
are E. hall, hell 1 , hell' 2 , hill 2 , hull 1 , hole 1 , hold 2 , of the roof of a buildiug. [Prov. Eng.] (f>) pi. Bed-covers. 
I can nae langer heal frae thee, 
Thou art my youngest brither. 
Rosmer Hafmand (Child's Ballads, I. 254). 
2. To cover, as for protection, (a) To cover or over- 
lay, as a roof with tiles, slates, tin, etc. [Obsolete or prov. 
Eng.] 
Alle the houses beth heled halles and chambres, 
With no lede, bote with Loue and with Leel-speche. 
Piers Plowman (C), viii. 237. 
Water with of rayne or of the welle, 
Then hele it feire, or se that it be soo. 
Palladins, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 90. 
(4) [In this use also spelled heel, being partly confused 
with heel?, orig. healdl, heeld, incline.] To cover (the 
roots of trees and plants), usually in an inclined or slanting 
position, with soil, after they have been taken out of the 
ground, and before setting them permanently : generally 
used with in. 
2. One who assists in planning a robbery 
or burglary, by finding out where money or 
valuables are. kept and informing the gang, 
for an interest in the proceeds of the plunder. 
[Thieves' cant.] 
heady (hed'i), a. [< head + -y 1 .'} 1. Head- 
strong; rash; precipitate; hurried on by ob- 
stinacy or passion. 
Let the immortal! soule lift her eies vpwards, not down- 
wards into this darke world, which is vnstable, madde, 
headie, crooked, alway encompassing a blinde depth. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 367. 
A man of astrong heady temperament, like Villon, is very 
differently tempted. His eyes lay hold on all provocations 
greedily, and his heart flames up at a look into imperious 
desire. -R. L. Stevenson, Francois Villon. 
2. Apt to affect the head; intoxicating. 
A sort of wine which was very heady. 
This towne much consists of brewers of a certaine heady 
ale. Evelyn, Diary, May 19, 1672. 
They [moles] are driven from their haunts by garlick for 
a time, and other heady smells buried in their passages. 
Evelyn, Sylva, xxvi. 
New honours are as heady as new wine. 
Scott, Kenilworth, xxxii. 
3. Violent ; impetuous. [Rare.] 
Never came reformation in a flood, 
With such a heady currance, scouring faults. 
A cliffe 
Against whose base the headie Neptune dasht 
His high-curlde browes. 
Marston and Webster, Malcontent, iv. 3. 
head-yard (hed'yard), n. Naut., , one of the dMa rogeo> the roserootj and Scroph ularia nodosa, the fig 
yards on the foremast: as, to haul around and W0 rt. High heal-all, a common North American herb 
brace up the head-yards. Pedimlans Canadenxis, the lousewort. See Pedieularis 
heal 1 (hel), v. [< ME. helen, < AS. hcelan (= heald 1 !, v. and n. See heeld. 
OS. he/ian = OFries. hela = D. heelen = MLG. heald 2 (held), n. Same as heddle. 
helen, heilen, LG. helen = OHG. heilan, MHG. heal-dog (hel'dog), n. [< heal 1 , v., + obj. dog.] 
G. heilen = Icel. heila = Sw. hela = Dan. hele = See madwort. 
healer 1 (he'ler), n. [< ME. helere (= OHG. 
heilari), < helen, heal: see heal 1 , v. The AS. 
noun hcelend (prop, ppr.) (= OS. heljand = 
= OHG ' " 
VII bushels [of seed] on an acre londe bestowe 
When all the dewe is off, in houres warme, 
And hele hem lest the nyghtes weete hem harme. .. . 
Palladius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 45. healsome (hel sum), a 
(hel), . A variant spelling "* >">-' 2 variant of * ote * o '- 
healing-herb (he'ling-erb), . A plant, Sym- 
phytum officinale, generally called comfrey. 
healing-pyx (he'ling-piks), n. Eccles., the pyx 
or box which contains the sacred oil for anoint- 
ing the sick. 
healing-stonet, n. A roofing-slate or -tile. 
For the covering of houses there are three sorts of slate, 
which from that use take the name of Healing-stones. 
. Carew, Survey of Cornwall, fol. 6. 
heallesst, . [ME. heleles; < heal 1 , n., + -less.] 
Incapable of being made whole or well. 
How myght a wight in tormente and in drede 
And heleles, yow sende as yet gladnesse ? 
Chaucer, Troilus, v. 1593. 
healm, n. See halm. 
healsfangt, [AS., lit. 'neck-taking.' < heals, 
the neck, E. halse 1 , q. v., + fang, n., <fon (pp. 
fangcn), take : see fang. Cf . Icel. halsfang, em- 
bracing, Mlsfengja, embrace.] In Anglo-Saxon 
law, a fine or mulct of uncertain character; 
"the sum every man sentenced to the pillory 
would have had to pay to save him from that 
punishment, had it been in use." Thorpe. 
A dialectal (Scotch) 
-all (hel'al), n. 
sess great healing virtues, especially Brmiella 
vulgaris, more commonly called self-heal. Among 
the other plants sometimes called by this name are Col 
linsonia Canadensis, the horse-balm or stone-root, Kho 
oseroot, and Serophularia nodosa, the fir 
Goth, hailjan), heal, make whole, < hal, whole: healer 1 (he'ler), n. 
see whole, and cf . holy, hale 2 , hail 2 , health, etc.] 
I. trans. 1. To make whole or sound ; restore 
to health or soundness ; cure : as, to heal the 
sick. 
The! that were hurt and wounded a-bode at theire hos- 
telles for to hele theire woundes. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 499. 
The rarest Simples that our fields present-vs 
Heale but one hurt, and healing too torment-vs. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., Eden. 
Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 
Mat. viii. 8. 
2. To restore to wholesome conditions; re- 
MLG. heilant = OHG. heilanto, heilant, MHG. 
heilant, G. heiland), lit. healer, was applied only 
to Jesus, being a translation of the name Jesus 
or of its Latin equivalent salvator.~] One who 
or that which heals, cures, restores, or repairs. 
This name Ihesu es noghte ells for to say one Ynglische 
hot heler or hele. 
Hamjmle, Prose Treatises (E. E. T. S.), p. 43. 
O Time ! . . . comforter, 
And only healer when the heart hath bled. 
Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 130. 
move something evil or noxious from ; purify; healer 2 (he'ler), . [<ftea(2 + -er 1 .] One whose 
cleanse ; strengthen. business it is to cover houses with tiles, slates, 
Also hellier, hillier. 
I . . . will heal their land. 2 Chron. vii. 14. 
Thy gifts, thy love, may scarce now heal my heart 
Look not so kind God keep us well apart ! 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, II. 324. 
3. To remedy; remove, repair, or counteract 
by salutary or beneficial means : as, to heal a 
quarrel or a breach. 
I will heal their backsliding. Hos. riv. 4. 
We took order that he should be dealt with by Mr. Cot- 
ton, Mr. Hooker, and Mr. Welde, to be brought to see his 
errour, and to heal it by some public explanation of his 
meaning. Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 179. 
Time and tale a long-past woe will heal, 
And make a melody of grief. 
etc. Also hellier, hillier. Ray, South and East 
Country Words. [Prov. Eng.] 
healfult (hel'ful), a. [< ME. heeleful, heleftd; 
< heal 1 , n., + -ful.~] 1. Tending to heal or cure ; 
healing. 2. Full of health or safety. 
It schalle syue drynke to hym with watir of heelful 
wisdom. Wyclif, Ecclus. xv. 3(Purv.). 
He made the Gospelles, in the whiche is gode Doctryne 
and helffulle, fulle of Charitee and Sothefastnesse, and 
trewe prechinge to hem that beleeven in God. 
Mandemlle, Travels, p. 133. 
Vertues to knowe, thaym forto haue and vse, 
Is thing moste heelfulle in this worlde trevly. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 1. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, n. 23. h ea li n gl (he'ling), n. [< ME. heelinge, < AS. 
H. intrans. To grow whole or sound; return to hieling (= D. heeling_ = OHG. heilunga, G. hei- 
st sound state : with reference to a wound, some- lung), verbal n. of hailan, heal : see heal 1 , c.] 1 . 
The act or process of making or becoming 
whole, sound, or well. 
The first stage of healing, or the discharge of matter, is 
by surgeons called digestion. Sharp, Surgery. 
Ourself, foreseeing casualty, . . . learnt, 
For many weary moons before we came, 
This craft of healing. Tennyson, Princess, iii. 
times with np or over. 
Withinne a fewe dayes he schal so haul that he schal 
fele him silf of the statt and the strenkthe of xl seer. 
Book ofQuinte Essence (ed. Furnivall), p. 15. 
While Geraint lay healing of his hurt. 
The blameless King went forth. Tennyson, Geraint. 
Healing tissue. See tissue. 
(more commonly hcelu, , 
vatioii: see heal 1 , n.), < hal, whole, hale: see 
whole, hale 2 , hail 2 , heal 1 . The word is thus an 
abstract noun from whole, not from heal.'] 1. 
Soundness of body; that condition of a living 
organism and of its various parts and func- 
tions which conduces to efficient and prolonged 
life; a normal bodily condition. Health implies 
also, physiologically, the ability to produce offspring fit- 
ted to live long and to perform efficiently the ordinary 
functions of their species. 
It is as " the outward sign of freedom, the realisation of 
the universal will," that health may be set at once as sign 
and as goal of the harmonious operation of the whole sys- 
tem as sign and as goal of a realisation of life. 
J. H. Stirling, Secret of Hegel, II. 554. 
2. In an extended use, the general condition of 
the body with reference to the degree of sound- 
ness and vigor, whether normal or impaired: 
as, good health; ill health ; how is your health f 
That health of the body is best which is ablest to endure 
all alterations and extremities. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 270. 
3. Natural vigor of the faculties ; moral or in- 
tellectual soundness. 
We have left undone those things which we ought to have 
done ; And we have done those things which we ought not 
to have done : And there is no health in us. 
Book of Common Prayer, General Confession. 
The beautiful solemn words of the ritual had done him 
good, and restored much of his health. 
Mrs. Gaskell, Sylvia's Lovers, vi. 
4. Power of healing, or giving health ; capa- 
city for restoring, strengthening, enlightening, 
purifying, etc. : chiefly in Scripture. 
That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health 
among all nations. Ps. Ixvii. 2. 
The tongue of the wise is health. Prov. xii. 18. 
5. A salutation or a toast; an invocation of 
health and happiness for another: as, to drink 
a health to one. 
Thou worthy lord 
Of that unworthy wife that greeteth thee, 
Health to thy person ! Shak., Lucrece, 1. 1305. 
Lady Margerle was the first ladye 
That drank to him the wine O ; 
And aye as the healths gaed round and round, 
"Laddy, your love is mine O." 
Sweet Willie and Lady Margerie (Child's Ballads, II. 53). 
Well come, give us a bottle of good wine, and we'll 
drink the lads' health. Sheridan, School for Scandal, ii. 3. 
Bill Of health. See bills. Board of health, a board of 
commissioners appointed by the government of the United 
