headsman

[ hedz-muhn ]

noun,plural heads·men.
  1. a public executioner who beheads condemned persons.

Origin of headsman

1
First recorded in 1595–1605; head + 's1 + man

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use headsman in a sentence

  • They were governed by headsmen, who were, no doubt, military leaders also; disputes were settled by a judge.

    Indian Myth and Legend | Donald Alexander Mackenzie
  • They it was who by universal prescription commanded three of the Pequod's boats as headsmen.

    Moby Dick; or The Whale | Herman Melville
  • And how many others, prouder and more pressing yet, begrudging their judges and headsmen their death, perish by their own hand!

    The Gods are Athirst | Anatole France
  • Farewell, thou horn of abundance, that adornest the headsmen of the commonwealth!

  • Then the headsmen began their dread work; the fourth victim was Erick Johannson the father of Gustavus.

British Dictionary definitions for headsman

headsman

/ (ˈhɛdzmən) /


nounplural -men
  1. (formerly) an executioner who beheaded condemned persons

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012