Definition

1. Verb:
   • To behead, to execute by decapitation: "xử trảm" means to carry out an execution by cutting off a person's head, typically as a form of capital punishment. This term is strongly associated with historical, feudal-era judicial systems.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Tên phản nghịch bị xử trảm tại pháp trường. (The rebel was beheaded at the execution ground.)
  • Hình phạt xử trảm thường dành cho những tội nặng thời phong kiến. (The punishment of beheading was often reserved for serious crimes in the feudal era.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "xử trảm" is almost exclusively used in historical or literary contexts to describe executions from Vietnam's feudal past or in similar settings. It is not used for modern execution methods.
• It implies a formal, judicial act of execution, not merely an act of killing.

Variants and Related Words

• Chém đầu (verb): To chop/behead. This is a more general and colloquial term for decapitation, not necessarily implying a formal judicial sentence.
• Hành hình (verb): To execute. A broader term for carrying out a death sentence.
• Tử hình (noun): Death penalty, capital punishment.
• Trảm quyết (verb, archaic): A synonym for "xử trảm," meaning to execute by beheading.

Synonyms

• Chém đầu: To behead, to decapitate.
• Xử tử: To execute (general term).

Notes on Meaning

• "Xử trảm" specifically denotes execution by a blade (sword, axe) severing the head from the body. It is one specific type of "xử tử" (execution).
• The word carries a strong connotation of antiquity, severity, and finality. It is not used in contemporary legal language.

verb

1. to behead