| Title | holocaust |
|---|---|
| Text |
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary ho·lo·caust ETYMOLOGY Middle English, from Late Latin holocaustum, from Greek holokauston, from neuter of holokaustos burnt whole, from hol- + kaustos burnt, from kaiein to burn — more at caustic DATE 13th century 1. a sacrifice consumed by fire 2. a thorough destruction involving extensive loss of life especially through fire a nuclear holocaust 3. a. often capitalized : the mass slaughter of European civilians and especially Jews by the Nazis during World War II — usually used with the b. a mass slaughter of people; especially : genocide English Etymology holocaust mid-13c., "sacrifice by fire, burnt offering," from Gk. holokauston, neut. of holokaustos "burned whole," from holos "whole" (see safe (adj.)) + kaustos, verbal adj. of kaiein "to burn." Originally a Bible word for "burnt offerings," given wider sense of "massacre, destruction of a large number of persons" from 1833. The Holocaust "Nazi genocide of European Jews in World War II," first recorded 1957, earlier known in Heb. as Shoah "catastrophe." The word itself was used in English in reference to Hitler's Jewish policies from 1942, but not as a proper name for them. "Auschwitz makes all too clear the principle that the human psyche can create meaning out of anything." [Robert Jay Lifton, "The Nazi Doctors"] Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 holocaust holo·caust / 5hClEkC:st; NAmE 5hB:lE-; 5houlE- / noun1. [C] a situation in which many things are destroyed and many people killed, especially because of a war or a fire (尤指战争或火灾引起的)大灾难,大毁灭: a nuclear holocaust 核灾难 2. the Holocaust [sing.] the killing of millions of Jews by the Nazis in the 1930s and 1940s (20 世纪 30 年代和 40 年代纳粹对数百万犹太人的)大屠杀 Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Edition n. Function: noun Synonyms: FIRE 1, conflagration, infernoWebster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged holo·caust I. \ˈhälə]ˌkȯst, ˈhōl- also ˈhȯl- or ]ˌkäst sometimes -lē] or -li] or ]_kəst\noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English, from Old French holocauste, from Late Latin holocaustum, from Greek holokauston, neuter of holokaustos burnt whole, from hol- + kaustos burnt, from kaiein to burn — more at caustic 1. : a burnt sacrifice : a sacrificial offering wholly consumed by fire 2. : a complete or thorough sacrifice or destruction especially by fire < burned all his books and paper in a giant holocaust > < thousands of enemy troops consumed in the holocaust — Upton Sinclair > < an atomic global holocaust — J.B.Conant > • holo·caus·tic \| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷|kȯstik, -tēk also -|käs-\ adjective II. noun 1. : a great slaughter ; specifically often capitalized : a genocidal slaughter (as of European Jews by the Nazis during World War II) 2. : disaster < turn an ordinary matrimonial civil war into an explosive do-or-die end-of-the-world holocaust — J.A.Ornstein > • holo·caus·tal \¦hälə¦kȯstəl, ¦hōl- also ¦hȯl- or -¦käst-\ adjective |
Learn with these flashcards. Click next, previous, or up to navigate to more flashcards for this subject.
Next card: Hippomania
Previous card: Noun ho·log·ra·phy the process making hologram transitive verb
Up to card list: English learning