bereavement

Etymology

It is formed from English bereave + -ment.^[2][3][4][5] The verb bereave is from Old English berēafian (“to deprive of, rob”),^[2][3] from be- and rēafian (“to plunder, rob”), the source of reave.^[2][3] The Old English verb is cognate with Dutch beroven, German berauben and Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌱𐍉𐌽 (biraubōn, “to rob”).^[2][3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The state of being deprived of anything, and specifically of a near relative or close friend by death: 1731, in the second edition of N. Bailey's Universal Etymological English Dictionary.^[2][3] Merriam-Webster Unabridged gives 1660 as its first known use,^[7] and Dictionary.com 1725–35.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The noun arose when the verb had already narrowed: since the mid-17th century bereave has been used mostly of life, hope, loved ones and other immaterial possessions.^[3] Johnson (1755) still defined the noun simply as "deprivation", citing only a dictionary.^[5] The specific sense, loss through the death of someone close, is the one that has lasted,^[3][7] and it is now found in phrases such as bereavement counseling.^[7] Collins also records a countable use, a bereavement being a death.^[8]

Timeline

• 1731 – the state of being deprived of something, especially of a relative or friend by death.^[2][3] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the word to 1660.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. The state of having lost someone close through death: Grief after bereavement can last for years.^[7][2][8]
2. A death of someone close, seen as a loss: The school sent flowers after her family's bereavement.^[8]
3. The state of being deprived of anything valued.^[2][8][5]

Related words

• bereave
• bereft
• reave

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins