Etymology

beetlehead

B3E1E1T1L1E1H4E1A1D2

Today it means: A stupid person; a blockhead. Full definition →

English head ← Middle English heed ← Old English hēafod
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰew-der.?
  2. Proto-Germanic*bautaną
  3. Proto-Germanic*bautilaz
  4. Proto-West Germanic*bautil
  5. Old Englishbīetel
  6. Old Englishbȳtel
  7. Middle Englishbetel
  8. Englishbeetle
  9. Proto-Indo-European*kap-?
  10. Proto-Indo-European*kap-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*káput
  12. Proto-Germanic*haubudą
  13. Old Englishhēafod
  14. Middle Englishheed
  15. Englishhead
  16. English todaybeetlehead

From beetle + -head. See beetle (“a mallet”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.