ringhead

noun

1. The top of a ring-shaped construction.

   “The ringheads and 4 feet of the soffit from the face of the arch are faced with blue Staffordshire bricks .”

2. An instrument used for stretching woollen cloth.
3. A cutting tool or assembly that consists of a circular head which houses multiple cutting knives or blades arranged in a ring formation.

   “In the figure only the top and bottom cylinder heads have been replaced by ringheads, with the side heads remaining conventional so that rounded corners can be produced on the planed planks.”

   “Variables were examined: Moisture content, angle of knives in ringhead, angle of cutting edge, position of ringhead in relation to centerline of piece being planed, and cutting speed.”

4. A journalist who covers Olympic sports.

   “That's a lesson my friend and fellow ringhead ( Olympic journalist ) Elliott Almond and I learned one day long ago on the slopes of Mount Hood .”

   “A few of the Ringheads made a statement by refusing to watch the Dream Team play, so it must've made them gag when International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch, sho didn't know a three-point shot from a three-card monte, was a conspicuous Dream Team observer at the Palau Municipal d'Esports de Badalona.”

5. (South-Africa, offensive)A warrior of the Zulu or Amaswazi tribe.

   “It appears that, as he rode towards the outspan place and saw the concourse, six ringheads or warriors stepped out to meet him, and one of them, laying down his weapons, advanced holding a white shield before him to show that his errand was peaceful.”

   “They were "ringheads" of Manukosi's own white shield regiment and before the encounter was over ten of Mashakatsi's men were dead and he himself and six others were wounded.”

   “They demanded of him to know where more Bushman children were to be had, and took him away and as they heard from the servants, he had led them in the night close to the kraal of 'ringheads' ( Zulus or Amaswazi ) upon which they [ the Boers ] had killed him for alleged treachery .”

6. (slang)A fan of the opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner.

   “And Ringheads aren't the only ones who are drawn to Wagner: only Hitler and Shakespeare have attracted so many biographers, analysts and apologists.”

   “Ringheads, also known as Wagnolaters, often travel the world to hear the cycle, reserving special devotion for Bayreuth, Germany, where Wagner’s own theater stands.”

   “Sherwin Sloan retired early as an ophthalmologist to pursue an obsession that bestowed another title — leader of the "Ringheads," a nickname for fans of Richard Wagner's four-opera cycle known as "The Ring."”

adj

1. (not-comparable)Having a circular or ring-shaped head.

   “In their archeological excavations, the Ingstads found eight turf-and-stone Norse dwellings similar to those in Greenland, and artifacts including a bronze Viking ringhead pin, a spindle whorl of soapstone, corroded iron rivets, an anvil, and a charcoal kiln and smithy.”

   “The basic design had been finalised by the spring of 1897, once a ringhead hammer had replaced the original spur and a second lug had been added to the locking piece, but the design did not stabilise until the adoption in 1912 of the neue Sicherung ('New Safety', 'N.S.') that moved upward to lock only when the hammer was cocked.”

   “The measurements have been made in the vertebral canal close to lig. longitudinale int. by means of a ringhead bow divider and the measures have been set off on a transverse scale which is accurate to tenths of millimetres .”