death's-head

noun

A human skull, especially as symbol of death.

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Meanings

noundeath's-head (plural death's-heads)

plural death's-heads · alternative death's head

  1. A human skull, especially as symbol of death.

    To the confusion and confounding of that cursed death's-head knight.

    1952, Ivanhoe, archived from the original on 21 Aug 2018
    1 more example

    This Komarov, a Cossack’s son, was a very short man with a crew cut and a death's-head's nostrils.

    1957 March 7, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 3.5, in Pnin, Heinemann, page 71
  2. A kind of hawk moth with pale markings on the back of the thorax somewhat like a skull.

Translations

Czech smrtihlav
  • smrtihlava human skull, as symbol of death
Dutch doodshoofd, doodskop
  • doodshoofda human skull, as symbol of death
  • doodskopa human skull, as symbol of death
Finnish pääkallo
  • pääkalloa human skull, as symbol of death
French tête de mort
  • tête de morta human skull, as symbol of death
German Totenkopf
  • Totenkopfa human skull, as symbol of death
Hungarian halálfej, koponya
  • halálfeja human skull, as symbol of death
  • koponyaa human skull, as symbol of death
Irish blaosc mairbh
  • blaosc mairbha human skull, as symbol of death
Italian teschio
  • teschioa human skull, as symbol of death
Portuguese caveira
  • caveiraa human skull, as symbol of death
Russian мёртвая голова́
  • мёртвая голова́ (mjórtvaja golová)a human skull, as symbol of death
Spanish calavera
  • calaveraa human skull, as symbol of death
Swedish dödskalle
  • dödskallea human skull, as symbol of death
Turkish kurukafa
  • kurukafaa human skull, as symbol of death
Cite this entry
APA

death's-head. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death's-head

MLA

“death's-head.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death's-head. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “death's-head,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death's-head.

Source: death's-head on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.