waterhoofd

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Dutch

Etymology

From water (water) +‎ hoofd (head), calque of Latin hydrocephalus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʋaː.tərˌɦoːft/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: wa‧ter‧hoofd

Noun

waterhoofd n (plural waterhoofden, diminutive waterhoofdje n)

  1. hydrocephalus
  2. (informal) excess, especially of management, overhead and leadership
    • 2016 April 9, “Bewoners vieren 25 jaar Bruggepoort”, in Het Kontakt Harderwijk:
      "Een corporatie met een waterhoofd, met meer managers dan gewone werknemers. Gelukkig gaat het nu veel beter", vinden de commissieleden.
      "A corporation with a waterhoofd, with more managers than normal employees. Fortunately, it is doing much better now," the committee members feel.
    • 2016 March 16, “TSN Thuiszorg failliet; werknemers en cliënten in onzekerheid”, in RTL Nieuws:
      Volgens de PvdA [political party] is TSN uiteindelijk ten onder gegaan door mismanagement. Het bedrijf had volgens de partij een waterhoofd door een te grote managementlaag.
      According to the PvdA, mismanagement ultimately caused the TSN's decline. The party said the company had a waterhoofd caused by too much management overhead.