behead
/bɪˈhɛd/ verb
Forms beheads beheading beheaded
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English beheden, bihefden, biheveden, from Old English behēafdian (“to behead”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihaubudōn, *bihaubidōn (“to behead”), equivalent to be- (“off, away”) + head. Cognate with Middle High German behoubeten (“to behead”).
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [OE. bihefden, AS. beheáfdian; pref. be- + heáfod head. See Head.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “behead”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details