decapitate

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to cut off or otherwise remove the head of a person, animal, or figure

   The force of the collision was enough to decapitate the stone statue.

2. 2
   verb

   to remove or destroy the leadership of an organization, government, or armed force

   The arrests were intended to decapitate the criminal network.

Simplified etymology

Decapitate entered English in the early 17th century and ultimately derives from Latin caput, “head.”

From French décapiter and Late Latin decapitare, formed from Latin de- ('off, away') + caput, capitis ('head'). The political and organizational sense is metaphorical: removing senior leaders is treated as cutting off a body's head.

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