thủ cấp

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Severed head: The primary meaning of "thủ cấp" is the head of a person that has been cut off, typically as a result of decapitation, often in a historical or military context as a war trophy or proof of execution.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Quân lính mang thủ cấp của tướng địch về doanh trại. (The soldiers brought the severed head of the enemy general back to the camp.)
  • Thủ cấp bị treo lên như một lời cảnh cáo. (The severed head was hung up as a warning.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used in historical, literary, or dramatic contexts to describe a grim outcome of battle, punishment, or assassination. It is not used in everyday modern conversation.

Variants and Related Words

• Đầu lâu (n): skull.
• Thi hài (n): corpse, dead body.
• Chém đầu (v): to decapitate, to behead.

Synonyms

• Severed head: a head that has been cut from the body.
• Head: (in this specific, grim context) the part of the body containing the brain, separated from the torso.

Related Idioms

• Lấy thủ cấp: to take someone's head (as in battle).
  • Tướng quân thề sẽ lấy thủ cấp của kẻ phản bội. (The general swore he would take the traitor's head.)