decapitate

de·cap·i·tate

transitive verb

-·tat·ed, -·tat·ing

to cut off the head of; behead
to remove or destroy that part regarded as essential to the operation of: to decapitate a terrorist cell

Origin of decapitate

French décapiter from Medieval Latin decapitatus, past participle of decapitare from Classical Latin de-, off + caput, head

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"decapitate." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/decapitate>.

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decapitate. (n.d.). Retrieved December 18th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/decapitate

decapitate

transitive verb

de·cap·i·tat·ed, de·cap·i·tat·ing, de·cap·i·tates

To cut off the head of; behead.
To destroy or incapacitate (a government or organization, for example) by killing or removing its leader or leaders.

Origin of decapitate

Late Latin dēcapitāre dēcapitāt-Latin dē- de- Latin caput capit- head ; see kaput- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

de·cap′i·ta′tion
noun

de·cap′i·ta′tor
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.