phrase used by Isaiah Berlin in "Hedgehog nad the Fox"...essay on Totstoy

[thomas r griffin]

what does the  word "bourreau" mean in the phrase "l'ami du bourreau" mean?

 

Thanks for assist.

[freebird]

bourreau，which means a headsman or an executioner.

[thomas r griffin]

Merci!

My old, but now lost, French-English dictionary may have had this word....but must be rare now.