noun

decapitation

dih-kap-ih-TAY-shuhn/dɪˌkæpɪˈteɪʃn/

The act or result of cutting off a head.

The cook’s decapitation of the fish separates its head from its body.

A cook cuts the head off a whole fish on a cutting board, with the knife at the neck and the head visibly separating from the body.

Etymology

deLatinoff

+capitLatinhead

+ationLatinact or process

“Off” and “head” express the literal removal of the head. The action-noun ending names the act of beheading or the fact of being beheaded.

In context

WIRED11:15

I have not thankfully had too much experience with decapitation, but the way a person handles that, you embalm the head independently from the rest of the body

Mortician Answers MORE Dead Body Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

More examples

The damaged statue showed signs of deliberate decapitation.
The court record named decapitation as the sentence.
The exhibit discussed the decapitation of royal statues during the revolt.

Forms

decapitation

decapitate verb — cut off a head

Similar words

beheading: Beheading is the ordinary equivalent; decapitation is more formal and can also describe damage to a statue.