Bereave - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

be·reave

Audio Help [bi-reev] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used with object), -reaved or -reft, -reav·ing.

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): The war bereaved them of their home.

3.	Obsolete. to take away by violence.

[Origin: bef. 900; ME bereven, OE beréafian; c. D berooven, G berauben, Goth biraubōn. See be-, reave¹

]

—Related forms

be·reave·ment, noun

be·reav·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Bereave

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

be·reave Audio Help (bĭ-rēv') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. be·reaved or be·reft (-rěft'), be·reav·ing, be·reaves

To leave desolate or alone, especially by death: "Cry aloud for the man who is dead, for the woman and children bereaved" (Alan Paton).
Archaic To take (something valuable or necessary), typically by force.

[Middle English bireven, to deprive, from Old English berēafian; see reup- in Indo-European roots.]

be·reave'ment n., be·reav'er n.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
bereave

O.E. bereafian "rob," from be + reafian "rob, plunder," from P.Gmc. *raubojanan. A common Gmc. formation (cf. Du. berooven, Ger. berauben, Goth. biraubon). Since c.1650, mostly in ref. 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.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

bereave
verb
deprive through death

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Bereave

Be*reave"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bereaved, Bereft; p. pr. & vb. n. Bereaving.] [OE. bireven, AS. bere['a]fian. See Be-, and Reave.]

1. To make destitute; to deprive; to strip; -- with of before the person or thing taken away.

Madam, you have bereft me of all words. --Shak.

Bereft of him who taught me how to sing. --Tickell.

2. To take away from. [Obs.]

All your interest in those territories Is utterly bereft you; all is lost. --Shak.

3. To take away. [Obs.]

Shall move you to bereave my life. --Marlowe.

Note: The imp. and past pple. form bereaved is not used in reference to immaterial objects. We say bereaved or bereft by death of a relative, bereft of hope and strength.

Syn: To dispossess; to divest.

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