cabecera

Spanish

Alternative forms

• cabezera (obsolete)

Etymology

Etymology tree

substratebor.?

Proto-Indo-European *kap-?

Proto-Indo-European *kap-

Proto-Indo-European *káput

Proto-Italic *kaput

Latin caput

Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós

Proto-Italic *-ijos

Proto-Italic *-ios

Old Latin -ios

Latin -iusnom.

Latin -ium

Latin capitium

Vulgar Latin capitia

Old Spanish cabeça

Spanish cabeza

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-os?

Proto-Indo-European *-o-

Proto-Indo-European *-so-

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂so-

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós

Proto-Italic *-āsijos

Proto-Italic *-āsios

Latin -āriusnom.

Latin -ārius

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂

Proto-Italic *-ā

Latin -a

Latin -āria

Spanish -era

Spanish cabecera

From cabeza (“head”) + -era. Compare Portuguese cabeceira.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kabeˈθeɾa/ [ka.β̞eˈθe.ɾa] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• IPA^(key): /kabeˈseɾa/ [ka.β̞eˈse.ɾa] (Latin America, Philippines)

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɾa
• Syllabification: ca‧be‧ce‧ra

Noun

cabecera f (plural cabeceras)

1. headboard, bedhead

   Synonyms: cabecero, cabezal

2. head (of company)
3. (Latin America, Philippines) seat of government

   Synonym: capital

4. headline, heading, top
5. (television, film) opening credits, intro, title sequence

   Synonym: intro

6. headwaters
7. (computing, networking) header

Derived terms

• a la cabecera
• cabecera de línea
• cabecera de puente
• de cabecera
• libro de cabecera
• médico de cabecera

Descendants

• → Hiligaynon: kabesera
• → Tagalog: kabesera

Further reading

• “cabecera”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025