Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BE-REAVE', v.t. [pret. bereaved, bereft; pp. bereaved, bereft. Sax. bereafian, of be and reafian, to deprive. See Rob and Reap.]

1. To deprive; to strip; to make destitute; with of before the thing taken away. Me have ye bereaved of my children. – Gen. xlii. It is sometimes used without of, and is particularly applied to express the loss of friends by death.
2. To take away from. – Shak.