Where does “голова” come from?

голова (Ukrainian) comes from Ukrainian рі́зати, from Old East Slavic рѣзати, from Proto-Slavic rězati, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *rḗˀźtei, from Proto-Indo-European wreh₁ǵ- — to break, tear.

голова (Ukrainian): head; chair, chairman, chairperson; chairman,...

Definitions

  1. head; chair, chairman, chairperson; chairman,...

Ancestry of “голова”, step by step

голова traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Ukrainian рі́зати

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ukrainianрі́затиto cut, to slice, to carve
2Old East Slavicрѣзати—
3Proto-Slavicrězatito cut, to slice; to crop, to shear; to trim
4Proto-Balto-Slavic*rḗˀźteito cut
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwreh₁ǵ-to break, tear

via Old East Slavic голова

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old East Slavicголова—
2Proto-Slavicgolvàhead
3Proto-Balto-Slavicgalˀwā́ˀhead
4Proto-Indo-EuropeangelH-naked; head

Words derived from “голова”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European wreh₁ǵ- →Every word from Proto-Balto-Slavic *rḗˀźtei →Every word from Proto-Slavic rězati →