headway

Meaning

Noun

• Movement ahead or forward.
• Forward motion, or its rate.
• 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.
• Progress toward a goal.
• The clearance beneath an object, such as an arch, ceiling or bridge; headroom.
• A cross-heading.

Origin

• 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.