headsman
headsman — noun
- headsmansingular
- headsmenplural
1. a person whose official job in the past was to cut off the head of someone who h
a person whose official job in the past was to cut off the head of someone who had been sentenced to death
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]
The condemned woman walked calmly toward the block where the hooded headsman stood waiting.
Historical records show that the York headsman received a small fee for each beheading.
- executioner
general term for anyone who carries out a death sentence; broader than 'headsman'
- hangman
specifically executes by hanging rather than by beheading
用法筆記
This term is historical and appears mostly in descriptions of medieval or early modern punishment. In modern English, 'executioner' is the usual word.