A verb meaning 'to cut off.' Used for cutting off the ear in Gethsemane (John 18:10), for radical discipleship (Mark 9:43), and Paul's sharp irony in Galatians 5:12 against circumcision-advocates.
Paul's Galatians irony exposes the absurdity of adding human works to grace: if circumcision adds standing, why stop there? Any attempt to supplement grace for justification is as misguided as self-mutilation. Jesus's radical discipleship language calls for decisive action against sin -- 'cut off' what leads away from life.