Where does “behead” come from?
Behead comes from Middle English beheden, from Old English behēafdian, meaning to cut off the head.
behead (English): To remove the head of; to cut someone's head off
Definitions
- To remove the head of; to cut someone's head off
Ancestry of “behead”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | beheden | — |
| 2 | Old English | behēafdian | to behead |
| 3 | Old English | hēafdian | to behead |
| 4 | Old English | -ian | Forms verbs from nouns and adjectives |
| 5 | Old English | -ōjan | — |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | -ōn | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -ōną | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 11 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |