decapitate
UK[dɪˈkæpɪteɪt]US[dɪˈkæpɪteɪt]
v
To cut off the head of a person or animal.
Morpheme Breakdown
de
capit
ate
de
remove
capit
head
ate
verb suffix
Etymology
The word 'decapitate' is a direct borrowing from Late Latin decapitatus, the past participle of decapitare, meaning "to behead." This Latin verb was itself a compound formed from the prefix de- ("off") and the noun caput ("head"). The root caput can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European kaput-, also meaning "head," which is the source for many head-related words across Indo-European languages, such as 'capital' and 'captain'. Thus, the literal and enduring logic of the word is the act of removing (de-) the head (capit-), a meaning that has remained concrete and unchanged from its classical origins to modern English usage.
Analysis
Structure: de (remove) + capit (head) + ate (verb suffix)
de: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "off, away, down, completely," serving a reversive or privative function.
capit: Latin origin, from caput meaning "head," serving as the core root.
ate: Latin origin via French, a suffix used to form verbs meaning "to act upon, to cause to become."
Examples
The guillotine was used to decapitate prisoners during the French Revolution.
The graphic novel depicted a hero who had to decapitate the monstrous creature to defeat it.
Botanically, to decapitate a plant means to remove its primary growing tip.