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Bereave

verb

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To deprive by or as if by violence; to rob; to strip. transitive

    "Madam, you have bereft me of all words,"

  2. 2
    deprive through death wordnet
  3. 3
    To take away by destroying, impairing, or spoiling; take away by violence. obsolete, transitive

    "All your interest in those territories / Is utterly bereft you; all is lost."

  4. 4
    To deprive of power; prevent. transitive
  5. 5
    To take away someone or something that is important or close; deprive. transitive

    "Death bereaved him of his wife."

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  1. 6
    To destroy life; cut off. intransitive, rare

Etymology

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).

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