Decapitation - Wikipedia The term beheading refers to the act of deliberately decapitating a person, either as a means of murder or as an execution; it may be performed with an axe, sword, or knife, or by mechanical means such as a guillotine An executioner who carries out executions by beheading is sometimes called a headsman [1]
Beheading | History, Methods Consequences of Capital Punishment . . . beheading, a mode of executing capital punishment by which the head is severed from the body The ancient Greeks and Romans regarded it as a most honorable form of death Before execution the criminal was tied to a stake and whipped with rods
Beheading - New World Encyclopedia Decapitation or beheading, is the removal of the head from a living body, inevitably causing death Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, such as a means of murder or execution It may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, or knife, or by means of a guillotine