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English Dictionary - With Multi-Lingual Search
| April 15, 2009 |
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| Word of the Week--"Bereavement" |
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Definition--Bereavement- n. 1. the death of a close friend or family member.
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| Discussion--This word comes from the Old English word bereafian (be-, bi- thoroughly + reafian rob).
So we see that the original word meant to rob thoroughly. Certainly, nothing robs more thoroughly
than death, which robs us of our life.
Nothing is as tragic as the death of a loved one. Not only are they robbed of their life, but those
that love them are robbed of their happiness for a period of time. This stage is known as the grieving stage,
when people attempt to come to terms with the death of a loved one.
In some cultures death is seen as an advance into the world beyond and is cause for celebration. These
cultures do not grieve for their dead; in their minds the loved ones have gone to a better place.
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| Etymology--Bereavement- developed from Old English
bereafian, meaning to rob thoroughly.
Notice that none of the foreign translations appear to be close to the English spelling or pronunciation. |
Foreign Translations |
| Dutch: | verlies van een dierbare (het) |
| French: | perte (f) |
| German: | Trauerfall (m) |
| Italian: | lutto |
| Spanish: | dolor, pesar, luto |
