headnoten.
/ˈhɛdnəʊt/, U.S. /ˈhɛdˌnoʊt/ 1.
a. A note at the top or beginning of an article, page, etc., usually summarizing or commenting on the content.
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society > leisure > the arts > literature > literary and textual criticism > literary criticism > commentary > [noun] > comment or note > head-note
headnote1833
1833 G. Miller Latter Struggles in Journey of Life xxxi. 277 I had been no less busy..in editing a new, and what I wished to consider, in consequence of the head notes, or arguments which I affixed to the different chapters, an improved edition of Mrs Grant's ‘History of an Irish Family’.
1846 Sharpe's London Mag. 9 May 26/2 Vide the head-note to the tale of Robin Redbreast, in No. 7, p. 100.
1863 D. G. Rossetti Let. (1965) II. 479 I am glad you like the headnote plan.
1904 St. Nicholas Mar. 478/1 By a printer's error a mistake was made in the head-note on page 424.
1965 Listener 17 June 905/3 A headnote to each poem.
2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 10 Sept. 5/3 Carpenter's introduction, headnotes and footnotes are models of their kind in locating the work both historically and generically.
b. Law. A concise summary prefixed to the report of a decided case, stating the principle of the decision and an outline of the facts.
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society > law > administration of justice > court papers > [noun] > law report > part of
headnote1855
1855 R. B. Crowder Comm. Bench Rep. XVI. 491 The head note or the side or marginal note of a report, is a thing upon which much skill and exercise of thought is required.
1885 Law Rep.: Queen's Bench Div. 14 812 The facts..may be gathered from the above head-note.
1912 Amer. Law School Rev. 78/1 Writing a proper headnote involves more than reproducing the language of the opinion.
1993 W. W. Van Alstyne Freedom & Tenure in Acad. 148 See the description provided in the Supreme Court Reporter's remarkable headnote to the case.
2. Music. A note in the upper register of a person's voice. Cf. head register n. at head n.1 Compounds 4, head voice n.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > [noun] > note or tone > head or chest note
head tone1829
headnote1845
chest-note1854
1845 Athenæum 15 Feb. 180/1 Let her..try to work the voice she naturally has into flexibility and control..to acquire the one or two head notes which she exhibited yesterday week.
1889 Grove's Dict. Music IV. 322 The peculiarity of the female voice is the possession of a large range of fine head-notes in the place of the male falsetto.
1929 Music & Lett. 10 236 So long as the words contain vowel sounds favourable to head notes, like ah, these can be sung on high notes.
1994 G. Bennett Breaking Through 33 A piano or pianissimo..note that can be sustained in an unbroken crescendo to forte..is a well-placed head note, not a falsetto.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1833