Where does “dreadhead” come from?

dreadhead (English) comes from English dreads, from English dreadlocks, from Jamaican Creole dreadlocks, from Jamaican Creole dread, from English dread, from Middle English dreden, from Old English drǣdan, from Old English ondrǣdan — on, onto.

dreadhead (English): A person with dreadlocks

Definitions

  1. A person with dreadlocks

Ancestry of “dreadhead”, step by step

dreadhead traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English dreads

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishdreadsdreadlocks; A Rastafarian person; Third-person...
2EnglishdreadlocksA hairstyle worn by Rastafarians and others in...
3Jamaican Creoledreadlocks
4Jamaican Creoledread
5EnglishdreadTo fear greatly; To anticipate with fear; To be...
6Middle EnglishdredenTo fear or dread
7Old Englishdrǣdanto fear, dread
8Old Englishondrǣdanto fear, dread
9Proto-West Germanicandarādanto be afraid, fear; to be in awe
10Proto-West Germanicanda-against, opposing; in return, back; facing,...
11Proto-Germanicanda-against, opposing; un-, de-
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntiopposite; near; in front
13Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
14Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
15Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

via English head

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishheadThe part of the body of an animal or human which...
2English-yAdded to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives...
3Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
4Old English-iġ-y, -ic
5Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
6Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
7Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en-
dreadhead — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer