hemi-head

or hem·i·head

[ hem-i-hed ]

noun

1. a cylinder head having hemispherical combustion chambers.
2. an engine having such a cylinder head; a hemi.

adjective

1. of or relating to such an engine:

   a hemi-head V-eight.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hemi-head¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Hidden under the electric-blue hood of Petty's Plymouth Belvedere GTX was a 426-cu.-in. "hemi-head" racing engine that generated 520 h.p. and burned gasoline at the rate of a gallon every three miles.

From Time Magazine Archive

Chrysler hemi-head engine with Triple GMC 671 blowers.

From Time Magazine Archive

He antagonized General Motors in 1957 by banning the fuel-injection system used in racing models of the Corvette, drove Chrysler temporarily out of racing in 1965 by banning its "hemi-head" engine; neither, he decreed, qualified as "stock" because ordinary street drivers could not buy them.

From Time Magazine Archive

Driving a 1966 Plymouth with a special 550-h.p. "hemi-head" engine, Petty overtook Cale Yarborough's Ford on the 113th lap, led the rest of the way at an average 160.6 m.p.h.

From Time Magazine Archive

He banned the "hemi-head"�which put Chrysler in such a huff that it refused to race at all at this year's Daytona Speed Weeks.

From Time Magazine Archive