See Also: bereave(dictionary)

bereave (iou)



bereave verb trans. .
[Old English bereafian = Old Frisian biravia, Old Saxon biro&cjat;on (Dutch beroven), Old High German biroubon (German berauben), Gothic biraubon from Germanic: see BE-, REAVE verb1.]
Deprive, dispossess of a possession (now usu. immaterial) or (by death) of a relative or loved one. OE.
Shakespeare Merchant of Venice Madam, you have bereft me of all words. L. P. Hartley His hands dropped to his sides, and he looked as bereft of dignity as any human being could. J. R. Ackerley He was lately bereaved of his wife, a Swiss girl who had died only a few months previously.
b. With double obj.: deprive of. arch. ME.
Milton Bereaue me not..thy gentle looks, thy aid.
Plunder, despoil; leave desolate, orphaned, or widowed. ME.
G. Macdonald I cry to thee..Because I am bereft. fig.: P. Ustinov Laughter would be bereaved if snobbery died.
Remove by violence. ME-E18.
Shakespeare Rape of Lucrece If..thine honour lay in me, From me by strong assault it is bereft.
? The more usual form of ppl adjective is bereaved in the case of loss by death, and bereft with ref. to the loss of things.
bereavement noun the state or an instance of being bereaved (now only of a relative etc. by death) M18.