bereave
- bereave
bereave (
v.)
O.E. bereafian "
to deprive of, take away, seize, rob," from
be +
reafian "
rob, plunder," from
P.Gmc. *raubojanan, from
PIE *reup- "
to snatch" (see
RAPID (
Cf. rapid)). A common Germanic formation (
Cf. O.Fris. birava "
despoil,"
O.S. biroban,
Du. berooven,
O.H.G. biroubon,
Ger. berauben,
Goth. biraubon). Since mid-17c., mostly in reference to life, hope, loved ones, and other immaterial possessions. Past tense forms
bereaved and
bereft have co-existed since 14c., now slightly differentiated in meaning, the former applied to loss of loved ones, the latter to circumstances.
Etymology dictionary.
2014.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
Bereave — Be*reave (b[ e]*r[=e]v ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Bereaved} (b[ e]*r[=e]vd ), {Bereft} (b[ e]*r[e^]ft ); p. pr. & vb. n. {Bereaving.}] [OE. bireven, AS. bere[ a]fian. See {Be }, and {Reave.}] [1913 Webster] 1. To make destitute; to deprive; to… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
bereave — index deprive, despoil Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
bereave — ► VERB (be bereaved) ▪ be deprived of a close relation or friend through their death. DERIVATIVES bereavement noun. ORIGIN Old English … English terms dictionary
bereave — [bē rēv′, birēv′] vt. bereaved or bereft [bireft′] bereaving [ME bireven < OE bereafian, to deprive, rob < be , BE + reafian, akin to Ger rauben: see REAVE1] 1. to deprive or rob; dispossess: now usually in the pp. bereft [she was bereft of … English World dictionary
bereave — transitive verb ( reaved or bereft; reaving) Etymology: Middle English bereven, from Old English berēafian, from be + rēafian to rob more at reave Date: before 12th century 1. to deprive of something usually used with … New Collegiate Dictionary
bereave — bereavement, n. bereaver, n. /bi reev /, v.t., bereaved or bereft, bereaving. 1. to deprive and make desolate, esp. by death (usually fol. by of): Illness bereaved them of their mother. 2. to deprive ruthlessly or by force (usually fol. by of):… … Universalium
bereave — verb /bɪˈriːv/ To take away someone or something important or close Death bereaved him of his wife. See Also: reave … Wiktionary
bereave — Synonyms and related words: abridge, bleed, curtail, cut off, deprive, deprive of, disentitle, disinherit, dispossess, divest, drain, ease one of, leave, leave behind, lighten one of, lose, milk, mine, orphan, oust, rob, strip, take away from,… … Moby Thesaurus
bereave — see ROB … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
bereave — v. a. Wright’s L. P. p. 101 … Oldest English Words
