Crossword Genius

Missionary imposing penalty for beheading (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

augustine

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'missionary' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'imposing penalty for beheading' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'imposing' could be 'august' (I've seen this before) and 'august' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for augustine that I've seen before include "First Archbishop of Canterbury" , "Missionary" , "Friar" , "Saint" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app