headway

English

Etymology

Partly from Middle English hauedwei, from Old English hēafodweġ (“head-road, main-road”), equivalent to head +‎ way; partly as a shortening of ahead-way, the source of the nautical sense.

Noun

headway (countable and uncountable, plural headways)

1. Movement ahead or forward.
2. (nautical) Forward motion, or its rate.
3. (countable, transport) The interval of time or distance between the fronts of two vehicles (e.g. buses) moving in succession in the same direction, especially along the same pre-determined route.
   • 2019 October, William Barter, “West Coast capacity study”, in Modern Railways, page 66:

     Sixty minutes divided by the headway gives a potential figure for 'trains per hour' - the simplest possible and most simplistic definition of capacity, termed line capacity.

4. (uncountable, figuratively) Progress toward a goal.
5. (countable) The clearance beneath an object, such as an arch, ceiling or bridge; headroom.
6. (coal-mining) A cross-heading.

Derived terms

• make headway

Translations

clearance beneath an object

• Bulgarian: просвет (bg) m (prosvet)
• German: lichte Höhe f
• Italian: luce (it) f, spazio (it) m, altezza (it) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: просве́т (ru) m (prosvét), высота́ (ru) f (vysotá) (of a tunnel)
• Turkish: kemer yüksekliği, tavan yüksekliği

forward motion, or its rate

• Bulgarian: напредване (bg) n (napredvane), прогрес (bg) m (progres)
• German: Vorwärtsfahrt f
• Italian: abbrivio m, impulso (it) m, avvio (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: продвиже́ние (ru) n (prodvižénije), движе́ние вперёд n (dvižénije vperjód)
• Turkish: yol alma

time or distance interval between the fronts of two vehicles

• Bulgarian: дистанция (bg) f (distancija)
• German: Takt (de) m, Fahrzeugabstand m
• Italian: intervallo (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: промежу́ток (ru) m (promežútok), интерва́л (ru) m (intɛrvál), расстоя́ние (ru) n (rasstojánije), дистанция (ru) f (distancija)
• Turkish: kolbaşları zaman fasılası

progress toward a goal

• Bulgarian: прогрес (bg) m (progres)
• German: Fortschritt (de) m
• Italian: progresso (it) m, avanzamento (it) m, evoluzione (it) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: продвиже́ние (ru) n (prodvižénije), прогре́сс (ru) m (progréss)
• Turkish: gelişme (tr), ilerleme (tr)

See also

• seaway

References

• “headway”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.