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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

head over heels en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • /ˌhɛd əʊ.və ˈhiːlz/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˌhɛd oʊ.vɚ ˈhilz/ (General-American)
  • (Australia) audio
  • hĕd ō'vər hēlz (General-American)
  • /ˌhɛd oʊ.vɚ ˈhi.əlz/ (General-American)

Etymology

Attested from the 14th century onwards, originally as heels over head, which better rendered the notion of things being upside down (head over heels is the standard state of being).

Meanings

  1. (not-comparable) Hopelessly smitten; madly in love.
    • Something happens and I'm head over heels / Ah, don't take my heart, don't break my heart / Don't, don't, don't throw it away 1985, Roland Orzabal, Curt Smith, “Head Over Heels”, performed by Tears for Fears:
    • Obviously at my age my interest was purely paternal but my younger self was head over heels. 2013, Dennis Coughlin, Passport to Life, →ISBN, page 155:
    • Not to mention the young man that I was head over heels with was the jock at the school he attended. He played football and was damned good at it! 2012, Dressed up Garbage Can, →ISBN, page 9:
    • From what it appeared to most everyone on the set, including Presley right down to the lowly stagehands, Ireland was head over heels with the impish young actress Weld from the start. 2012, James Prickette, Actors of the Spaghetti Westerns, →ISBN, page 237:
    • Steve is the hottest, smartest, funniest, and most athletic boy in all of Edison High. Who knew a jock could be captain of the math team? He is also the guy that every girl is head over heels for. 2011, Martina Manicastri, Climb into My Mind: A Book of Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, →ISBN, page 74:

Translations (8)

sk beznádejne zaľúbený (hopelessly smitten) · sv upp över öronen (hopelessly smitten) · fr fou amoureux (hopelessly smitten) · hu fülig szerelmes (hopelessly smitten) · pl zakochany po uszy (hopelessly smitten) · fi päättömänä (hopelessly smitten) · sk zaľúbený po uši (hopelessly smitten) · fi korviaan myöten rakastunut (hopelessly smitten)

head over heels en · ADV

Pronunciation

  • /ˌhɛd əʊ.və ˈhiːlz/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˌhɛd oʊ.vɚ ˈhilz/ (General-American)
  • (Australia) audio
  • hĕd ō'vər hēlz (General-American)
  • /ˌhɛd oʊ.vɚ ˈhi.əlz/ (General-American)

Etymology

Attested from the 14th century onwards, originally as heels over head, which better rendered the notion of things being upside down (head over heels is the standard state of being).

Meanings

  1. (not-comparable) Tumbling upside down; somersaulting.
    • Bond went head-over-heels on to the ground amongst the spectators' feet, his legs in the air. The back of the chair splintered with a sharp crack. 1953, Ian Fleming, “The Deadly Tube”, in Casino Royale, London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 89:
    • They then placed themselves on the edge of the hill, and sitting down and putting their hands round their knees, they tumbled down one after another, rolling head-over-heels till they disappeared in the valley. 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 417:
    • She tripped and rolled head over heels down the hill.
    • I was knocked head over heels about 20' from where I was before. 2011, Wes Harvey, A Most Unusual Life, page 83:
  2. (not-comparable) At top speed; frantically.
    • Hearing the noise in the dark, the children ran head over heels back home.
    • It told its readers that people all over the country were "rushing head over heels toward the El Dorado on the Pacific— that wonderful California, which sets the public mind almost on the highway to insanity." 1968, Vardis Fisher, Opal Laurel Holmes, Opal Laurel Fisher, Gold Rushes and Mining Camps of the Early American West, page 46:
  3. (not-comparable, usually, with in love) Hopelessly; madly; to distraction; deeply; utterly.
    • Some of them lose and wind up head over heels in debt. Some of them win and wind up head over heels in debt. 1967, Russell B. Long, Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 90th Congress - First Session, United States Congress, page 16122:
    • She told me that her mom and Joey's dad aren't just in love, they are head-over-heels in love. 2013, Laurie Friedman, Heart to Heart with Mallory, page 59:
    • There over, hereunder / You got me head over heels / There's nothing left to fear / If you really feel the way I feel 2001 August 30, Shakira, “Whenever, Wherever”, in Laundry Service:
    • I mean, do I just fall head over heels for the last girl I've kissed? 2002, Francine Pascal, Liar, page 184:
    • I am head over heels in trouble. 1904, Henry Huttleston Rogers, “Letter from Rogers to Clemens (Mark Twain) dated 8 February 1904”, in Mark Twain's Correspondence with Henry Huttleston Rogers, 1893–1909, University of California Press, published 1969, page 555:
    • For research we went to Africa, and found ourselves head over heels into ritual (chapter 4). 2005, Ronald Frankenberg, Edith L. B. Turner, Heart of Lightness: The Life Story of an Anthropologist, page 2:

Deriveds

headless over heels

Synonyms

ass over teakettle · like mad · full tilt · full throttle · head over ears · arse over tit · base over apex

Translations (70)

hu hanyatt-homlok (at top speed; frantically) · fi päättömästi (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · es patas arriba (tumbling upside down) · cy tin dros ben (tumbling upside down) · pt cabeça pra baixo (tumbling upside down) · pt ponta-cabeça (tumbling upside down) · pl na łeb, na szyję (at top speed; frantically) · nl halsoverkop (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · gd car air char (tumbling upside down) · ca de tomballons (tumbling upside down) · uk по самі вуха (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · cy dibyn-dobyn (tumbling upside down) · fr éperdument (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · ru ку́барем (tumbling upside down) · de Hals über Kopf (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · ja めろめろ (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · de Hals über Kopf (at top speed; frantically) · it gambe all'aria (tumbling upside down) · de überschlagend (tumbling upside down) · pl na złamanie karku (at top speed; frantically) · sk nohy na plecia (at top speed; frantically) · it a gambe levate (at top speed; frantically) · fr à la folie (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · li halseuverkop (at top speed; frantically) · hu fülig (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · bg през глава (tumbling upside down) · sv stå på öronen (tumbling upside down) · de (bis) über beide Ohren (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · it follemente (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · uk по вуха (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · fi pää kolmantena jalkana (at top speed; frantically) · sv handlöst (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · fi suin päin (tumbling upside down) · ru вверх торма́шками (tumbling upside down) · nb hodestups (tumbling upside down) · ru сломя́ го́лову (at top speed; frantically) · sk hore nohami (tumbling upside down) · de wie wahnsinnig (at top speed; frantically) · de kopfüber (tumbling upside down) · fr jambes par-dessus tête (tumbling upside down) · nl halsoverkop (at top speed; frantically) · fr follement (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · sv hals över huvud (at top speed; frantically) · es cabeza abajo (tumbling upside down) · ru опроме́тью (at top speed; frantically) · gd car a' mhuiltein (tumbling upside down) · uk стрімголов (at top speed; frantically) · pl po uszy (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · ru стремгла́в (at top speed; frantically) · pl do góry nogami (tumbling upside down) · fi päistikkaa (tumbling upside down) · cy dinben drosben (tumbling upside down) · fi korviaan myöten (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · nb hodestups (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · it perdutamente (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · es perdidamente (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · sk beznádejne (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · de Hals über Kopf (tumbling upside down) · fr fou (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · gd car mu char (tumbling upside down) · nl halsoverkop (tumbling upside down) · sk po uši (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · sv upp över öronen (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · ru вверх нога́ми (tumbling upside down) · ru очертя́ го́лову (at top speed; frantically) · uk догори дриґом (tumbling upside down) · de wie verrückt (at top speed; frantically) · it fuori di testa (hopelessly, madly (as in head over heels in love)) · gd bun-os-cionn (tumbling upside down) · de purzelnd (tumbling upside down)