We get a lot of listener questions, and we try to answer as many as we can. After all, we’d hate for anyone to be bereft of language knowledge. This week, listener Tom Cook wrote to us about how he’d be bereft without an answer.
"While out hiking this summer, I met a woman who said she was 'bereft' about missing the chance to explore another nearby scenic trail. Since then, I keep hearing, and using, this seemingly old word. Is its use on the rise? And what exactly is its origin? I will be bereft if you don’t answer my question."
We'll do our best to prevent that last part, but before we get to "bereft," let's look at the verb "bereave." This word goes all the way back to Old English, and it meant "to deprive," "to rob," or "to dispossess." The Oxford English Dictionary notes that since around 1650, this verb has been mostly used in reference to immaterial possessions such as hope or life, but it can also be used in reference to a deceased relative.
That brings us to the two past participles of "bereave" which are "bereaved" and "bereft."
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition, defines the adjective "bereaved" as "suffering the death of a loved one." You might also see it in noun form: "Many hospitals provide the bereaved with a chaplain." Originally, it meant "deprived" or "robbed," as in being deprived of a loved one.
"Bereft" historically meant "forcibly deprived" or "robbed." If you're bereft, you've lost the use of something you previously had, like hope or happiness. The editors of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition, provide two definitions. Like "bereaved," one definition is "deprived or robbed of the use of something." The editors' second definition is "lacking something," as in this example: "The book is completely bereft of an index."
Bryan Garner, in his usage guide, notes a distinction between "bereaved" and "bereft." He says that "bereaved" should be used to refer to the loss of relatives by death, while "bereft" should be used in reference to "the loss of immaterial possessions or qualities."
Garner goes on to say that "bereft" shouldn't be used simply to refer to the lack of something - it must be something of which you've been dispossessed. Not everyone agrees though. For more on that, listen to the audio above.
