headsman

/'hedzmən/

Thân thiện

The headsman stands ready with his axe beside the wooden block.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • An executioner who beheads condemned persons: A "headsman" is specifically an official whose duty is to carry out capital punishment by decapitation, typically using an axe or a sword.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The condemned prisoner was led to the block to meet the headsman.
  • In historical accounts, the headsman was often a feared and solitary figure.

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively historical, referring to a role common in eras when beheading was a standard method of execution.
• It can be used metaphorically to denote an agent of severe or final judgment, though this is rare.
  • The ruthless CEO was dubbed the headsman of the industry, cutting jobs without mercy.

Variants and Related Words

• Executioner (n): A more general term for someone who carries out a death sentence.
• Axeman (n): Can be a synonym in the context of an executioner, though it also has other meanings.

Synonyms

• Executioner: One who executes a condemned person.
• Decapitator: One who beheads (less common, more literal).

Related Phrases and Idioms

• To lay one's head on the block: To willingly accept a severe punishment or consequence. This idiom evokes the image of placing one's neck on the execution block for the headsman.
  • By admitting the mistake, he laid his head on the block for the board's criticism.

Học thuật

Noun

1. an executioner who beheads the condemned person

Từ đồng nghĩa

• headman