headsman

headsman — noun

  • headsmansingular
  • headsmenplural

1. a person whose official job in the past was to cut off the head of someone who h

1.nounC1
Definition

a person whose official job in the past was to cut off the head of someone who had been sentenced to death

Example

The headsman raised his axe before the silent crowd gathered in the town square.

headsman raised + axe (action collocation)

In Tudor times, the headsman at the Tower of London executed people convicted of treason.

headsman at [place] executed [offence]

Common collocations
  • hooded headsman
  • headsman raised his axe
  • the king's headsman
  • headsman at the Tower
Synonyms
  • executioner

    general term for anyone who carries out a death sentence; broader than 'headsman'

  • hangman

    specifically executes by hanging rather than by beheading

Usage Note

This term is historical and appears mostly in descriptions of medieval or early modern punishment. In modern English, 'executioner' is the usual word.

Common Mistakes

The headsman hanged the prisoner.
The headsman beheaded the prisoner.
'headsman' specifically refers to beheading, not hanging.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While executioner is the broadest term for someone who carries out a death sentence, headsman specifically refers to one who beheads the condemned with an axe or sword — a role most common in medieval and early modern Europe. A hangman, by contrast, performs executions by hanging. In modern English, headsman is largely historical and literary, whereas executioner remains in limited use in legal contexts. For example, a historian might write about 'the headsman of the Tower of London,' but a modern news report would refer to 'the state executioner.'

executioner ↗hangman ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • the king's headsman
  • hooded headsman
  • headsman's axe
  • headsman's block

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Headsman is formed from 'head' (the part of the body that is cut off) + 'man' (person). In Old English, 'hēafodmann' meant 'leader' or 'chief,' but by the 1500s the word had taken on the specific meaning of an executioner who beheads people.