An archaic or dialectal spelling of bereave, meaning to deprive someone of something, especially through death or loss.
Variant spelling of bereave, from Old English bereafian meaning to rob or deprive. Comes from be- (make) plus reafian (to rob). The spelling with double-r reflects Middle English pronunciation patterns before standardization.
The word 'bereaved' is one of the only times English speakers still use this ancient verb form in everyday speech—when someone loses a loved one, we say they're bereaved, keeping this 1,000-year-old word alive!
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