headship

[ hed-ship ]

noun

1. the position of head or chief; chief authority; leadership; supremacy.

headship

/ ˈhɛdʃɪp /

noun

1. the position or state of being a leader; command; leadership
2. education the position of headmaster or headmistress of a school

Word History and Origins

Origin of headship¹

First recorded in 1575–85; head + -ship

Example Sentences

This is a party captured by the Christian right, after all, which is organized largely around a belief in male "headship" over women.

From Salon

Tia Levings escaped this world years ago, after suffering sexual and physical abuse by a husband under the conservative Christian ideology of "male headship."

From Salon

She said before becoming head teacher at Kitchener she was turned down for a few headship roles.

From BBC

“Marriage can be a partnership of equals. You would’ve thought a bomb went off. ... Male headship is God’s will, they repeated. Women who were intelligent.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Fundamentally, it comes down to the headship of Christ over his church and not wanting to surrender that to Caesar,” Mr. Coates said.

From Washington Times