Taxonomy of meanings for 頭:　　

  • 頭 tóu (OC: doo MC: dəu) 度侯切 平 廣韻：【説文云頭首也釋名云頭獨也於體髙而獨也度侯切十五 】
    • HEAD
      • nhead (also of birds etc)
      • n(post-N)head of the contextually determinate NCH
      • npost-NN's headDS
      • n[post-N]one's headDS
      • bones only>SKULL
        • nSKULL
      • part of>HAIR
        • n[post-N]hairCH
      • typical action>BOW DOWN
        • abstract:TOP
            • spatial relation>ABOVE
              • npost-Natop of N
              • horizontal>BEFORE
                  • ends of an object>TIP
                    • ntip, end
                    • nfigurativeend, side
                • abstract>PLACE
                • time relation>EARLY
                  • social relation>LEADER
                      • intellectual>TEACHER
                        • nleading teacher
                • PARTICLE
                  • ncpost-V{NUM}.+Nclassifierclassifier for large domestic animals such as buffalos and donkeys
                • grammaticalised>CLASSIFIERS
                  • ncpost-V{NUM}.+Nclassifiermeasure word for domestical animals
                • grammaticalised>SUFFIX
                  • npost-Nnominal "suffix" for abstract noun N
                  • npost-NN=concretepostnominal "suffix" (with concrete nouns)

                Additional information about 頭

                說文解字: 【頭】，首也。从頁、豆聲。 【度矦切】

                  Criteria
                • HEAD

                  1. The standard word for the head is shǒu 首.

                  2. Tóu 頭 is probably a dialect word meaning "head" and in any case the word seems to have a colloquial flavour.

                  3. Yuán 元 is already archaic by Warring States times.

                  NB: Lú 顱 is the standard word for the skull, and perhaps marginal to this group. See SKULL

                • ABOVE

                  [ABSTRACT/CONCRETE]

                  [SPATIAL/TEMPORAL]

                  1. The standard word referring to what is above or on top is shàng 上.

                  SPATIAL!, CONCRETE

                  2. Shàng 尚 is used verbally in an a figurative abstract way referring to higher status.

                  Tóu 頭 is occasionally used to the upper side of things.

                  NB: Shàng 尚 is used in various abstract ways and is not normally purely spatial in meaning. See SURPASS.

                • SKULL

                  1. Tóu 頭 refers generally to the skeleton of the head.

                  2. Dú lóu 髑髏 refers to the skeleton head of a dead person.

                  3. Lú 顱 "cranium" is a term current in the medical literature, and the word probably always had something of an anatomical stylistic flavour.

                  Word relations
                • Oppos: (HEAD)足/FOOT The general word for a foot is zú 足.