Kilo Lingo

la

feminine

/tɛt/

Line drawing of tête
Coloured illustration of tête
#212 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

head

Word origin

From Late Latin testa ('earthen pot, shell'), used colloquially for 'skull' and then 'head', displacing the classical Latin caput.

Origin
Latin
Root
testa
English cognates
test, testaceous

Grammar

Genderfeminine

Examples

J' , - .

I've had a headache since this morning, perhaps because of the noise.

baissé , .

She lowered her head to say yes, without saying a word.

.

Keep a cool head in this difficult situation.

.

This idea has been going round in my head since last night.

.

He went out of his mind when he heard the news.

Tête est un nom féminin très productif en locutions idiomatiques. Avoir mal à la tête (to have a headache) est très courant. Garder la tête froide (to keep a cool head) et perdre la tête (to lose one's mind, to go crazy) sont des expressions bien établies.

En tête (at the front, in the lead) et à la tête de (at the head of, leading) sont des locutions prépositionnelles. Coup de tête (impulsive act, headbutt) et tête-à-tête (face to face, private meeting) sont des composés courants. Faire la tête (to sulk, to pull a long face) et avoir la grosse tête (to be big-headed, conceited) sont idiomatiques. Tête baissée (headlong, without thinking) décrit une action imprudente.

Used in

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This word is part of lesson 5.