What word means "the top of a person's head"?

Question

I'm writing something—a story to be exact—and I am looking for a word which means "the top of a person's head." I remember seeing a word in which its meaning is exactly this one from a book that I'd read—Crispin: The Cross of Lead. I think it was something like "tope", but I looked at its meaning and it did not match.

Can anyone help me? I don't have the book with me because I just borrowed it at my previous school.

There really isn't a word in common use - I think most people would just say "the top of the head". And I think the word you remember might be "toupée" (from French, hence the accent), which is a small wig intended to cover the bare part of the scalp in male pattern baldness. — jamesqf, May 20 '18 at 04:43
@EricDuminil Just looked at its meaning, and it is "the skin on top of one's head where hair grows." It is near, but not close enough to be defined as the top of a person's head. — CSMAlternate, May 20 '18 at 11:50
If you're thinking of "tope"; the brimless cylindrical chef hat is a "toque", and the haircut of a medieval friar (as well as the resulting bald spot on top) is a "tonsure". — user662852, May 21 '18 at 14:21
I suspect that user662852's answer below correctly identifies the term used in the book you mention. From page 310 of The Cross of Lead: "Tonsure: the part of the cleric's head, usually the crown, left bare by shaving". The book does include one instance of the word pate, as well. — Sven Yargs, May 21 '18 at 22:36

Nigel J · Answer 1 · 2018-05-21T21:30:07.753

144

The 'crown' is the top of the head.

The crown is the top of the head, or the whole head.

Wikipedia

The top part of the skull; the top of the head.

OED

the top part of a head

Cambridge

From toe to crown he'll fill our skins with pinches,

Shakespeare - The Tempest IV, 1 - 1,972

=================================================================

Citation from 1535 :

So wente Sathan forth from the LORDE, and smote Iob with maruelous sore byles, from the sole off the fote vnto his crowne:

The Coverdale Bible

edited May 21 '18 at 21:30

answered May 19 '18 at 18:32

Nigel J

24,448

3

...Jack fell down and broke his crown...and Jill came tumbling after :-) – Nav May 21 '18 at 17:52
6

I guess Jack will be making a trip to the dentist? – BallpointBen May 21 '18 at 20:54
From Criteria for accepting passport photos in Dutch travel documents: Height: from age 11: from chin to crown, between 26 and 30 mm. up to age 11: from chin to crown, between 19 and 30 mm – phuclv Sep 07 '18 at 16:44
1

By the way...that "v" is actually a u. It's how it's been written since Latin until some versions ago of English... my brain gets frazzled trying to remember which one specifically. – Lordology Nov 22 '19 at 20:32
(From the disappeared ventilator) But then a viewer does not necessarily view. A runner does not necessarily run. Bleachers tend to seat people. And benders leave people flat out. English does not pattern consistently/logically. A hamburger contains beef. Misnomers are a fact of life. – Edwin Ashworth May 13 '20 at 19:02

Bread · Answer 2 · 2018-05-20T22:27:40.573

94

Image from Webster's dictionary text which states the following:

pate, n. [ME.; prob. orig. euphemistic.]

the top of the head.

Vocabulary.com:

Your pate is the top of your head...

edited May 20 '18 at 22:27

answered May 19 '18 at 18:06

Bread

5,658

6

+1 "Fat paunches have lean pates, and dainty bits / Make rich the ribs, but bankrupt quite the wits." (Shakespeare) – CowperKettle May 21 '18 at 17:55
2

..And this seems to be the word the OP saw in the book he read according to Paul's answer. – Cave Johnson May 22 '18 at 01:16
1

I don't understand why/how this would be euphemistic. – MissMonicaE May 22 '18 at 15:34
2

@MissMonicaE you would need to look at its etymology to understand. In Latin, the word patina meant "shallow pan" or "dish". – Mari-Lou A May 22 '18 at 19:07
As is often the case for the English language, we have more than one correct answer. Pate and crown are both correct. – IchabodE May 23 '18 at 22:19
It is very much more archaic than ‘crown’ — which I would not consider so much archaic as antiquated, — and certainly obscure — I came here to answer with both ‘crown’ and ‘cap’, — but perhaps the aforementioned story of the original question would be intended for an audience who would recognize and even laud such a word as ‘pate’. But, it is difficult to see whether @smci was addressing this answer or a previous comment. – can-ned_food May 25 '18 at 04:52
1

"Pate" survives, I think, only in "bald pate" which is the area of your head targeted by hair regrowth scammers. – Michael Kay May 25 '18 at 07:38
@smci ~ https://sobadsogood.com/2014/09/25/13-things-we-say-today-which-we-owe-to-shakespeare/ ~ 12 COMMON PHRASES WHICH WE OWE TO SHAKESPEARE ~ Some of us harbor no ill feelings toward Shakespeare, or to any of our ancestors. – Bread May 31 '18 at 11:19

score 33 · Answer 3 · edited May 22 '18 at 14:05

33

The sentence in the book you referenced "Crispin: The Cross of Lead", is this:

With a sweep of his hand, he snatched off his hat, revealing a bald pate.

From the Cambridge English Dictionary,

pate

= the top of a person's head

edited May 22 '18 at 14:05

Soha Farhin Pine

906

answered May 21 '18 at 19:23

Paul Stackhouse

331

score 16 · Answer 4 · answered May 20 '18 at 14:49

16

There is also scalp. Usually refers specifically to the skin, but not exclusively.

answered May 20 '18 at 14:49

Chuckk Hubbard

670

score 5 · Answer 5 · edited May 22 '18 at 10:46

5

In medical jargon, vertex is the top of the skull/ head.

Crown is used for reference to fetuses in the womb. For example:

crown-rump length or length of the unborn fetus measured during an ultrasound.

edited May 22 '18 at 10:46

AndyT

14,793

answered May 20 '18 at 06:13

user299508

71

1

But "reference to fetus's what?"... I need to know. I'm on tenterhooks to find out! – Nigel Touch May 21 '18 at 15:28
@NigelTouch - corrected – AndyT May 22 '18 at 10:46
2

@NigelTouch: this is why I'll never spend to much time here, its full of pedants who's only goal seems to be looking clever. Kudos for you're comment however, it's construction is flawless :-) – May 23 '18 at 01:58

score 4 · Answer 6 · answered May 21 '18 at 14:24

4

A tonsure is both the name of certain holy orders' haircut style, as well as the exposed top of the head resulting from that haircut.

answered May 21 '18 at 14:24

user662852

3,255

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered May 21 '18 at 20:57

1

Perhaps it was fontanelle? That is where the 'soft spot' in a babies skull is located.

answered May 21 '18 at 20:57

Damion Gomez

127

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered May 25 '18 at 05:04

If you are looking to be somewhat novel with language — cf. etymology of ‘suspicious’ anywhere but Wiktionary, where it is seriously deficient, — then you could consider

cap

In most dialects which I've encountered, a ‘cap’ is any style of shallow hat. Most etymological histories surmise a derivation from various words which are paronymic with the Latin ‘caput’ i.e. ‘head’.

Viz. e.g.

the cap of your head.

If your story occurs in the future, it may be a good way to suggest mutation of language while not being all too indecipherable.

What word means "the top of a person's head"?

8 Answers8

pate

Linked