Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Great destruction resulting in the extensive loss of life, especially by fire.
- noun The genocide of European Jews and other groups by the Nazis during World War II.
- noun A massive slaughter.
- noun A sacrificial offering that is consumed entirely by flames.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A sacrifice or offering entirely consumed by fire, in use among the Jews and some pagan nations.
- noun Figuratively, a great slaughter or sacrifice of life, as by fire or other accident, or in battle.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A burnt sacrifice; an offering, the whole of which was consumed by fire, among the Jews and some pagan nations.
- noun Sacrifice or loss of many lives, as by the burning of a theater or a ship.
- noun The mass killing of millions of Jews by the Nazis during the period from 1933 to 1945 in Germany and German-occupied lands; usually referred to as
The Holocaust . In Hebrew, the same event is referred to by the wordShoah .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
sacrifice to a god that is completely burned to ashes. - noun The annihilation or near-annihilation of a group of animals or people, whether by natural or deliberate agency.
- noun The state-sponsored mass murder of an ethnic group. In particular, the
Holocaust (which see).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an act of mass destruction and loss of life (especially in war or by fire)
- noun the mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi regime from 1941 until 1945
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Many linguists believe that the word holocaust, which is a Greek word -- holo means all and caust meaning "to burn to ashes", was originally coined to refer to a criminal incident in ancient Yemen committed by Jews who burnt alive a large group of chained and handcuffed men, women and children for their adherence to teachings the Jesus Christ (PBUH).
Judeopundit 2009
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Many linguists believe that the word holocaust, which is a Greek word -- holo means all and caust meaning "to burn to ashes", was originally coined to refer to a criminal incident in ancient Yemen committed by Jews who burnt alive a large group of chained and handcuffed men, women and children for their adherence to teachings the Jesus Christ (PBUH).
Baltiblogs 2009
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Many linguists believe that the word holocaust, which is a Greek word -- holo means all and caust meaning "to burn to ashes", was originally coined to refer to a criminal incident in ancient Yemen committed by Jews who burnt alive a large group of chained and handcuffed men, women and children for their adherence to teachings the Jesus Christ (PBUH).
Baltiblogs 2009
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I had consciously used the word holocaust to describe the indiscriminate bombardment of Beirut because I knew it would have a special meaning for Begin.
An American Life Ronald Reagan 1990
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I had consciously used the word holocaust to describe the indiscriminate bombardment of Beirut because I knew it would have a special meaning for Begin.
An American Life Ronald Reagan 1990
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I had consciously used the word holocaust to describe the indiscriminate bombardment of Beirut because I knew it would have a special meaning for Begin.
An American Life Ronald Reagan 1990
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I had consciously used the word holocaust to describe the indiscriminate bombardment of Beirut because I knew it would have a special meaning for Begin.
An American Life Ronald Reagan 1990
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•The word "holocaust" - which now signifies World War II genocide - has been replaced by "burnt offering."
USATODAY.com News 2011
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To be sure, you can use the term holocaust to describe these events, but only as a metaphor.
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"The collective violence in both rearguards by brutal perpetrators against undeserving victims justifies the use of the word 'holocaust'," he writes.
Trial of judge Baltasar Garzón splits a Spain still suffering civil war wounds 2012
whichbe commented on the word holocaust
Originally derived from the Greek word holókauston, meaning a "completely (holos) burnt (kaustos)" sacrificial offering to a god. (Wikipedia)
October 15, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word holocaust
Conversation pertaining to this term on porajmos.
November 18, 2008