bereave

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English

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Etymology

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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).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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bereave (third-person singular simple present bereaves, present participle bereaving, simple past and past participle bereaved or bereft)

  1. (transitive) To deprive by or as if by violence; to rob; to strip.
  2. (transitive, obsolete) To take away by destroying, impairing, or spoiling; take away by violence.
  3. (transitive) To deprive of power; prevent.
  4. (transitive) To take away someone or something that is important or close; deprive.
    Death bereaved him of his wife.
    The castaways were bereft of hope.
  5. (intransitive, rare) To destroy life; cut off.

Derived terms

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Translations

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