headlined
Meaning
To be the main performer or feature in a show, event, or publication.
To provide a headline for a newspaper article or page.
Structure
Usage
The veteran comedian headlined the charity gala to a sold-out crowd.
The newspaper headlined the story about the election results across its front page.
Her breakthrough performance last year led to her headlining the international music festival.
Etymology
The word 'headlined' is built upon the compound noun 'headline', which originated in the 1670s to describe the line at the top of a page containing title and page number. Its core logic stems from the Old English concept of 'head' as the topmost or foremost part, combined with 'line' from the Latin for a string or mark, effectively meaning "the top line." By the late 19th century, this typographic term evolved into a verb in journalistic contexts, meaning to furnish an article with such a prominent title. The modern sense of being the main feature or star, as in a performer who "headlines" a concert, is a natural semantic extension from being the most important item listed at the top of a promotional bill.
Analysis
- head: Old English 'hēafod' (top of the body, chief part). Functional role: The core root, conveying the sense of being foremost or principal. - line: Latin 'linea' (linen thread, string, mark). Functional role: A root forming a compound, here referring to a line of text. - d: Old English '-ed', '-od', '-ad' (past tense, past participle suffix). Functional role: An inflectional suffix indicating the past tense or past participle form.