title

 
Pronunciation: /ˈtʌɪt(ə)l/

noun

  • 1the name of a book, composition, or other artistic work: the author and title of the book
  • a caption or credit in a film or broadcast: Rumbelows will get exclusive sponsorship with opening and closing titles
  • a book, magazine, or newspaper considered as a publication: the company publishes 400 titles a year
  • 2a name that describes someone’s position or job: Leese assumed the title of director general
  • a word such as Lord or Dame that is used before someone’s name, or a form that is used instead of someone’s name, to indicate high social or official rank: he will inherit the title of Duke of Marlborough
  • a word such as Mrs or Dr that is used before someone’s name to indicate their profession or marital status: the title Professor is reserved for one or two members of a department
  • a descriptive or distinctive name that is earned or chosen: the restaurant deserved the title of Best Restaurant of the Year
  • 3the position of being the champion of a major sports competition: Davis won the world title for the first time in 1981
  • 4 [mass noun] Law a right or claim to the ownership of property or to a rank or throne: a grocery family had title to the property [count noun]: the buyer acquires a good title to the goods
  • 5(in church use) a fixed sphere of work and source of income as a condition for ordination.
  • a parish church in Rome under a cardinal.

verb

[with object and complement]
  • give a name to (a book, composition, or other work): a report titled The Lost Land

Origin:

Old English titul, reinforced by Old French title, both from Latin titulus 'inscription, title'. The word originally denoted a placard or inscription placed on an object, giving information about it, hence a descriptive heading in a book or other composition