Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bereft” come from?

Bereft is the past tense and past participle of bereave, from Old English bereafian meaning to rob or deprive, ultimately from a Germanic root meaning to seize or take away.

bereft (English): simple past tense and past participle of bereave;...

Definitions

  1. simple past tense and past participle of bereave;...

Ancestry of “bereft”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishbereavedhaving suffered the death of a loved one; simple...

Words derived from “bereft”

  • bereftness
  • unbereft
Every word from English bereaved →