cylinder head

noun

1. (in a reciprocating engine or pump) a detachable plate or cover on the end opposite to that from which the piston rod or connecting rod projects.

cylinder head

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: head. the detachable metal casting that fits onto the top of a cylinder block. In an engine it contains part of the combustion chamber and in an overhead-valve four-stroke engine it houses the valves and their operating mechanisms

Word History and Origins

Origin of cylinder head¹

First recorded in 1880–85