masthead

/ˌmæstˈhɛd/

Other forms: mastheads

In publishing, a masthead is a list at the top of a page that includes the names of editors, writers, and owners, as well as the title of the newspaper or magazine. You'll usually find the masthead on one of the first few pages.

In the UK, a masthead is slightly different: it's the title page, also known in the US as the "nameplate." American publications include editorial and ownership information on the masthead, while their British counterparts call this the "imprint." The sense of a masthead as the "top of a newspaper or magazine" comes from the word's original meaning, "top of a ship," from mast, "long pole that holds a ship's sail."

Definitions of masthead

1. noun

   a listing printed in all issues of a newspaper or magazine (usually on the editorial page) that gives the name of the publication and the names of the editorial staff, etc.
   synonyms: flag

   type of:

   list, listing

   a database containing an ordered array of items (names or topics)
2. noun

   the title of a newspaper or magazine; usually printed on the front page and on the editorial page
   type of:

   title

   the name of a work of art or literary composition etc.
3. noun

   the head or top of a mast
   type of:

   top

   the upper part of anything