eldertongue

Old English · noun

heafodwind

Normalised hēafodwind

Part of speech
noun, masculine
Declension
strong a-stem
IPA
/ˈxæ͜ɑː.fodˌwind/
[ˈhæ͜ɑː.vodˌwind]
Syllables
ˈxæ͜ɑː · fod · ˌwind (3 syllables)
Modern English
headwindcompasspointswind

Meaning

  1. a wind from one of the four chief points of the compass

    Fēower heafodwindas synd. Sē fyrmesta is ēasterne wind, subsolanus ġehāten, for þām ðe hē blæwð frām ðǣre sunnan upspringe, ⁊ ys swyðe ġemetegod. Sē ōðer heafodwind is sūðerne, auster ġehāten, sē āstyreð wolcnu, ⁊ ligettas, ⁊ mistlice cwyld blǣwð geond ðās eorðan.

    There are four headwinds. The first is the eastern wind, called subsolanus, because it blows from where the sun rises, and is very moderate. The second headwind is southern, called auster, which stirs up clouds, and lightnings, and blows various plagues around the earth.

    c. 994, Ælfric, On the Twelve Winds
  2. main wind

Declension

Declension of heafodwind
SingularPlural
Nominative hēafodwindhēafodwindas
Accusative hēafodwindhēafodwindas
Genitive hēafodwindeshēafodwinda
Dative hēafodwindehēafodwindum

All forms (6)

Etymology

From hēafod- + wind. Cognate with Old Norse höfuðvindr.

Descendants

headwind

Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heafodwind · CC BY-SA 4.0 licence · Attribution