Beheading

[Juan Albion]

Bereaved? As in having someone taken away?

Hmmmm. Maybe.

 

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

Hanged or hung.

 

[Juan Albion]

Hanged or hung.

I wouldn't want to be well-hanged.

 

[Shuggie]

8 different entries for the prefix BE- given in the OED. The one you're asking about is as follows:

3. Forming derivative verbs with privative meaning ‘off, away,’ as in bedeal v., benim v., bereave v. A very common use of be- in Old English and Middle English, prob. originating in words like beshear v., ‘to cut all round,’ whence ‘to cut off or away’;
but no longer in living use in forming new derivatives.

c. An ancient application, no longer in living use, was to express the sense of ‘bereave of,’ as in behead v., belimb v., etc., q.v. Cf. 3, above.

 

[Juan Albion]

8 different entries for the prefix BE- given in the OED. The one you're asking about is as follows:

3. Forming derivative verbs with privative meaning ‘off, away,’ as in bedeal v., benim v., bereave v. A very common use of be- in Old English and Middle English, prob. originating in words like beshear v., ‘to cut all round,’ whence ‘to cut off or away’;
but no longer in living use in forming new derivatives.

c. An ancient application, no longer in living use, was to express the sense of ‘bereave of,’ as in behead v., belimb v., etc., q.v. Cf. 3, above.

Perfect. Good old OED.

 

[Shuggie]

double post

 

[Barrel of Fun]

quirk.

glad that its proper old english root.

Pauline!

Absolutely right.

 

[super-seagulls]

Why is it "beheading" instead of "deheading"?

Shirley, it would only be 'deheading' if you 'headed' someone in the first place.
By that I mean if people's heads were put on like bottle tops for example, they could be 'deheaded', however because the body begins with a head it can't be 're-unheaded' if that makes sense!

Maybe I'm just talking crap

 

[dannyboy]

well it looks like they deheaded someone else last night .. next up is a Briton!

 

[Dick Head]

That's very interesting. I can't think of any other cases where be- implies off. Maybe I'm just not thinking hard enough. But thanks for that.

Bequeath means offload.

 

[Hamilton]

You dehead roses, but they grow back.

Hideous crime. Beheading that is. This British jihadist, I really rather hope they capture him alive.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Beheaded could equally apply to most pints poured at the Amex.

 

[BlockDpete]

Hanged or hung.

Humans are hanged, animals (as in pheasants) are hung.

A common error.

 

[Skylar]

You dehead roses, but they grow back.

Hideous crime. Beheading that is. This British jihadist, I really rather hope they capture him alive.

Is he really british the excustioner? The man in black is holding a knife so appears left handed but his gun holster is over his left shoulder so would need a right handed man to pull the gun as if he was a leftie and in a gun fight then would be cack handed and wouldn't be able to pull it out in time.

 

[Hamilton]

Is he really british the excustioner? The man in black is holding a knife so appears left handed but his gun holster is over his left shoulder so would need a right handed man to pull the gun as if he was a leftie and in a gun fight then would be cack handed and wouldn't be able to pull it out in time.

Too true. Smoke and mirrors. Could also have just been a VoiceOver.

Bet conspiracy theorist will soon be saying its Obama in the film.

 

[fat old seagull]

dehave

...

 

[Rogero]

Plenty of words begin with be- but I'm struggling to think of any other examples where it implies a taking away or a separation. Mostly they imply a positive action, such as bequeath with its concept of giving to, not taking away.

I love words and find them (and their origins) fascinating, but this one has me baffled. I'm sure there must be a linguistic expert on here who can offer some clarity.

Begone with you sir.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Is he really british the excustioner? The man in black is holding a knife so appears left handed but his gun holster is over his left shoulder so would need a right handed man to pull the gun as if he was a leftie and in a gun fight then would be cack handed and wouldn't be able to pull it out in time.

Does that post even make any sense?

 

[Skylar]

Too true. Smoke and mirrors. Could also have just been a VoiceOver.

Bet conspiracy theorist will soon be saying its Obama in the film.

I agree. It's made to appear that the executioner is British for recruitment purposes. The knife in left hand and gun holster doesn't make sense at all.

 

[Don Quixote]

http://www.etymonline.com

Look it up.