HEADSMAN

headsman, headman

(noun) an executioner who beheads the condemned person

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

headsman (plural headsmen)

(obsolete or Scotland) A chief person; a head man

An executioner whose method of dispatching the condemned is decapitation.

(mining, historical) A labourer in a colliery who transports the coal from the workings to the horseway, and who is oftentimes assisted by a younger worker called a foal.

(nautical) One in command of a whaling vessel.

Synonyms

• (one who executes via decapitation): beheader

Source: Wiktionary

Heads"man, n; pl. Headsmen (.

Definition: An executioner who cuts off heads. Dryden.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition