headman
Americannoun
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anthropol a chief or leader
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a foreman or overseer
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of headman
before 1000; Middle English he ( ve ) dman, Old English hēafodman. See head, man
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The most endearing among them is Ismail Altıntoprak, the muhtar, or elected headman, of Karagümrük.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
The village headman summoned her and said that by garlanding Nehru, she had become his bride.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2023
The village is deemed "at risk" by Fiji's government and headman Josevata Nagausaukula contemplates a future in which children now honing their rugby skills have been shifted, with their families, to higher ground inland.
From Reuters ● Jul. 25, 2022
Approaching Jobure de Guayo and clutching his notebook with the patient registry, Pequeño pointed the boat toward the compound of Quintín, the headman.
From Seattle Times ● May 8, 2018
The headman had feared that the old man would say something like this.
From "The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa" by Alexander Mccall Smith
As Hinfelaar writes, however, some chiefs and village headmen profit from selling land used by the community to international investors, “and fomenting social disruption in the villages facilitates such transactions.”
From Scientific American ● May 31, 2023
Murmu’s father and her grandfather were village headmen in Baidaposi in Mayurbhanj district in Odisha.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 22, 2022
Local ardos, or Fulani traditional headmen, complained that police don’t take cases they file seriously.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 10, 2018
The two headmen sat down on a rope cot, exchanging compliments.
From New York Times ● Jan. 30, 2016
I learned of these men from the chiefs and headmen who came to the Great Place to settle disputes and try cases.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
