Definition
A Grateful Dead fan who travels to follow the band; a person who travels without paying; or a tree stump or log in water.
Etymology
Compound of 'dead' + 'head.' The fan sense emerged in the 1960s-70s (fans seemed obsessed with following a 'dead' band name). The transportation sense means riding without a ticket (your 'head' traveling for free). The nautical sense refers to submerged wood hazards.
Kelly Says
Deadheads were America's most famous concert followers, but they weren't invented by the Grateful Dead—the term already meant freeloaders and river hazards. They just claimed it as their own, showing how subcultures recycle and rebrand language.
Translations
ARالعربية
رأس ميت
ra's may-yit
BNবাংলা
মৃত মাথা
mrut ma-tha
CACatalà
cap mort
cap mor-t
CSČeština
mrtvá hlava
mrt-va hla-va
DADansk
døende hoved
dø-en-de ho-ved
DEDeutsch
tote Kopf
to-te Kopf
ELΕλληνικά
κεφάλι θανάτου
ke-fá-li tha-na-tou
ESEspañol
cabeza muerta
ka-be-sa mu-er-ta
FAفارسی
سر مرده
sar mor-deh
FISuomi
kuollut pää
kuo-llut pää
FRFrançais
tête morte
tɛt mɔʁt
GUGU
મૃત્યુ માથું
mrutyu maathun
HAHA
kafa na mutuwar
ka-fa na mu-tu-war
HIहिन्दी
मृत सिर
mrut sir
HUMagyar
halálos fej
ha-la-los fej
IDBahasa Indonesia
kepala mati
ke-pa-la ma-ti
ITItaliano
testa morta
tes-ta mor-ta
KMKM
ច kepala មរណៈ
cha ka-pe-la mor-na-th
KO한국어
죽은 머리
juk-eun me-ri
MSBahasa Melayu
kepala mati
ke-pa-la ma-ti
MYမြန်မာ
မွေး လေး
mu-we le
NLNederlands
dode kop
do-de kop
NONorsk
døende hoved
dø-en-de ho-ved
PLPolski
umarła głowa
u-mar-la gło-wa
PTPortuguês
cabeça morta
ka-be-sa mor-ta
RORomână
cap moart
cap mo-art
RUРусский
мертвая голова
mer-tva-ya go-lova
SVSvenska
döda huvudet
död-a hu-vu-det
SWKiswahili
kichwa cha kifo
ki-chwa cha ki-fo
TAதமிழ்
மரண தலை
maraṇa tha-lai
TEతెలుగు
మరణం తల
maraṇam ta-la
TLTL
kamatayang ulo
ka-ma-ta-yang ulo
TRTürkçe
ölü baş
öl-ü ba-ş
UKУкраїнська
мертва голова
mer-tva go-lova
URاردو
مرنے کا سر
mar-ne ka sar
VITiếng Việt
đầu chết
dau chet
YOYO
ọ̀dọ̀ Ọlọ́run
ọ̀-dọ̀ Ọlọ́run
ZUZU
umusa weli
u-mu-sa we-li