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Slaughter

//ˈslɔtɚ// name, noun, verb

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.
  2. 2
    Used in the placenames of the Slaughters, Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter.
  3. 3
    A town in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States, from the surname.
Noun
  1. 1
    The killing of animals, generally for food. uncountable
  2. 2
    the killing of animals (as for food) wordnet
  3. 3
    A massacre; the killing of a large number of people. countable, uncountable

    "1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book VI, 1773, The First Six Books of Milton's Paradise Lost, Edinburgh, page 416, For ſin, on war and mutual ſlaughter bent."

  4. 4
    the savage and excessive killing of many people wordnet
  5. 5
    A mass destruction of non-living things. countable, rare, uncountable

    "There was a massive slaughter of W.R. steam power at the conclusion of the summer timetable. In all, 169 locomotives were condemned."

Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    a sound defeat wordnet
  2. 7
    A rout or decisive defeat. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    A group of iguanas. collective, countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To butcher animals, generally for food. transitive
  2. 2
    kill a large number of people indiscriminately wordnet
  3. 3
    To massacre people in large numbers. intransitive, transitive

    "Hurriedly he snatched up others, one or two at a time, until he had slaughtered thirty of Hrothgar's doughtiest earls."

  4. 4
    kill (animals) usually for food consumption wordnet
  5. 5
    To kill someone or something, especially in a particularly brutal manner. transitive

    "Therefore cheere vp your mindes, prepare to fight, He that can take or ſlaughter Tamburlaine, Shall rule the Prouince of Albania."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English slaughter, from Old Norse *slahtr, later sláttr, from Proto-Germanic *slahtrą, from Proto-Germanic *slahaną. Equivalent to slay + -ter (as in laughter). Eventually derived from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, strike, throw”). Related with Dutch slachten, German schlachten, Finnish lahdata (all “to slaughter”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English slaughter, from Old Norse *slahtr, later sláttr, from Proto-Germanic *slahtrą, from Proto-Germanic *slahaną. Equivalent to slay + -ter (as in laughter). Eventually derived from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, strike, throw”). Related with Dutch slachten, German schlachten, Finnish lahdata (all “to slaughter”).

Etymology 3

Originally named for someone who slaughtered animals for food.

Etymology 4

See Slaughters.

See also for "slaughter"

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