Heading

How to spell heading

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce heading

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does heading mean?

1. nounA title or caption placed at the top of a section, page, or document.
2. nounThe compass direction in which a vessel, aircraft, or person is moving or pointing.

Heading in a sentence

• Each chapter begins with a bold heading in large type.

• The pilot adjusted the heading to compensate for the strong crosswind.

• The report listed expenses under a separate heading for travel.

• The captain checked the ship's heading against the chart.

Where does heading come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word grows directly out of head, which in Old English was heafod, meaning the top part of the body and, by extension, the topmost or leading part of anything. That ancient word traces back to a Proto-Germanic form related to Dutch hoofd and German Haupt, all carrying the sense of the uppermost part. Adding the suffix -ing produced heading, used from the late medieval period for something placed at the top, such as the title standing above a section of text. The navigational meaning, the direction in which a vessel or aircraft points, emerged later from the verb to head, meaning to move with one's head pointing forward. Because heading is built so transparently from the familiar word head, its spelling rarely surprises, with the single d being the only point of care.

How the word is built

• head (from Old English heafod: top, chief part)
• -ing (noun/verbal suffix)