Headings

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈhɛdɪŋz/

Definitions

1. Titles that categorize and identify sections of written work
2. Labels used to mark and organize parts of a document for easy reference
3. Textual indicators that divide and name distinct parts of a written piece

Etymology: The plural "headings" is the form of "heading," which is simply "head" with the suffix "-ing" attached. "Head" traces back through Old English "hēafod" to a Proto-Germanic root, and in the Proto-Indo-European ancestor it is generally linked to a root meaning something like "top" or "skull," a sense the English word kept for the body part. The suffix "-ing" is the same ending found in words like "building" and "meeting," so a heading is, literally, something that stands at the head of a passage. The metaphor is the interesting part. A heading sits above a section the way a head sits atop a body, marking where a new part begins and what it is about. Middle English had "heed," the older form of the word, and the modern spelling "head" was settled over time, but the underlying idea of the top or front of a thing has stayed fixed throughout.

Synonyms: titles, headers, captions, labels, subtitles