Head

In syntax, the head of a phrase is the word that determines the major distributional properties of the phrase. The other elements of the phrase are commonly called dependents.

Examples

The head of a noun phrase is the noun (e.g. book in the thick new book lying on the table), the verb of the verb phrase (e.g. give in give me that pen), and so on.

Synonyms

See head vs. dependent.

Origin

The term head has been unchallenged in English at least since Bloomfield (1933:195). The German and French equivalents (Kopf, tête) have become current in the 1980s, especially in Generative syntax.

Reference

• Bloomfield, Leonard. 1933. Language. London: Allen & Unwin.

other languages

German Kopf