holocaust

holocaust
\ \ [13] Etymologically, a holocaust is a ‘complete burning’, and the word was originally used in English for a ‘burnt offering’, a ‘sacrifice completely consumed by fire’ (Mark 12, 33, ‘more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices’ in the Authorized Version, was translated by William Tindale in 1526 as ‘a greater thing than all holocausts and sacrifices’).
\ \ It comes via Old French and Latin from Greek holókauston, a compound formed from hóloswhole’ (as in English holograph [17] and holism [20], a coinage of the South African statesman Jan Smuts) and kaustós, a relative of Greek kaúeinburn’ (from which English gets caustic [14] and cauterize [14]). John Milton was the first English writer to use the word in the wider sense ‘complete destruction by fire’, in the late 17th century, and in the succeeding centuries several precedents were set for its modern application to ‘nuclear destruction’ and ‘mass murder’ – Bishop Ken, for instance, wrote in 1711 ‘Should general Flame this World consume … An Holocaust for Fontal Sin’, and Leitch Ritchie in Wanderings by the Loire 1833 refers to Louis VII making ‘a holocaust of thirteen hundred persons in a church’.
\ \ Cf.CAUSTIC, CAUTERIZE, HOLISM

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Holocaust —    The word derives from Greek and Latin and is translated as “something wholly burnt up” and, in its broader meaning, “a total destruction.” The Holocaust refers to the Nazi objective of annihilating every Jewish man, woman, and child who fell… …   Historical dictionary of the Holocaust

  • Holocaust Denial —    This is the claim that the genocide of the Jews during World War II did not occur at all or that the Holocaust did not happen in the way historians have recorded it. Holocaust deniers reject the claim that Nazi Germany had a deliberate policy… …   Historical dictionary of the Holocaust

  • Holocaust — • As suggested by its Greek origin (holos whole , and kaustos burnt ) the word designates an offering entirely consumed by fire, in use among the Jews and some pagan nations of antiquity. [Definition from 1910.] Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • holocaust — HOLOCÁUST, holocausturi, s.n. 1. (În antichitate) Jertfă adusă zeilor, în care animalul sacrificat era ars în întregime. ♦ fig. Ofrandă, sacrificiu. 2. Ucidere (prin ardere) a unui foarte mare număr de oameni. [pr.: ca ust. – var.: olocáust s.n.] …   Dicționar Român

  • Holocaust — Sm Völkermord, besonders an den Juden in der Nazizeit per. Wortschatz fach. (20. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus ne. holocaust; dort übertragen aus einem biblischen Wort für Brandopfer (aus l. holocaustum n., gr. holokaútōma n., zu gr. hólos ganz,… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • holocaust — [hä′lə käst΄; hō′lə kôst΄, hô′lə kôst΄] n. [ME < OFr holocauste < LL(Ec) holocaustum, a whole burnt offering < Gr holokauston (neut. of holokaustos), burnt whole < holos, whole (see HOLO ) + kaustos, burnt: see CAUSTIC] 1. an offering …   English World dictionary

  • Holocaust — Hol o*caust, n. [L. holocaustum, Gr. ?, neut. of ?, ?, burnt whole; o los whole + kaysto s burnt, fr. kai ein to burn (cf. {Caustic}): cf. F. holocauste.] 1. A burnt sacrifice; an offering, the whole of which was consumed by fire, among the Jews… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Holocaust — Жанры Хеви метал Годы 1977 наше время Страна …   Википедия

  • holocaust — mid 13c., sacrifice by fire, burnt offering, from Gk. holokauston a thing wholly burnt, neut. of holokaustos burned whole, from holos whole (see HOLO (Cf. holo )) + kaustos, verbal adjective of kaiein to burn. Originally a Bible word for burnt… …   Etymology dictionary

  • holocaust — {{/stl 13}}{{stl 7}}[wym. holokaust] {{/stl 7}}{{stl 8}}rz. mnż I, D. u, Mc. holocaustuście, blm {{/stl 8}}{{stl 7}} zagłada, całkowite zniszczenie (zwłaszcza w odniesieniu do masowej zagłady żydów, przeprowadzonej przez nazistów w czasie II… …   Langenscheidt Polski wyjaśnień

  • holocaust — ► NOUN 1) destruction or slaughter on a mass scale. 2) (the Holocaust) the mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi regime in World War II. ORIGIN from Greek kaustos burnt …   English terms dictionary

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