bereave
UK /bɪˈɹiːv/ · US /bɪˈɹiv/ verb
Forms bereaves bereaving bereaved bereft
- verb (transitive) To deprive by or as if by violence; to rob; to strip.
- verb (transitive, obsolete) To take away by destroying, impairing, or spoiling; take away by violence.
- verb (transitive) To deprive of power; prevent.
- verb (transitive) To take away someone or something that is important or close; deprive. “Death bereaved him of his wife.”
- verb (intransitive, rare) To destroy life; cut off.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English bireven, from Old English berēafian (“to bereave, deprive of, take away, seize, rob, despoil”), from Proto-Germanic *biraubōną, and Old English berēofan (“to bereave, deprive, rob of”); both equivalent to be- + reave. Cognate with Dutch beroven (“to rob, deprive, bereave”), German berauben (“to deprive, rob, bereave”), Danish berøve (“to deprive of”), Norwegian berøve (“to deprive”), Swedish beröva (“to rob”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌱𐍉𐌽 (biraubōn).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To make destitute; to deprive; to strip; --with of before the person or thing taken away.
- verb To take away from. [Obs.]
Etymology [OE. bireven, AS. bereáfian. See Be-, and Reave.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “bereave”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details