hecatomb
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Latin hecatombē, from Ancient Greek ἑκατόμβη, from ἑκατόν (“hundred”) + βοῦς (“ox”).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
hecatomb (plural hecatombs)
- (historical) In ancient Greece or Rome, a great feast and public sacrifice to the gods, originally of a hundred oxen.
- Any great sacrifice; a great number of people, animals or things, especially as sacrificed or destroyed; a large amount.
- 2002, Christopher Hitchens, "Martin Amis: Lightness at Midnight", The Atlantic, Sep 2002:
- In Conquest's opinion, the visceral reaction to Nazism entails a verdict that it was morally worse than Stalinism, even if its eventual hecatomb was a less colossal one.
- 2006, Karen Armstrong, The Great Transformation, Atlantic Books 2007, p. 31-2:
- During the royal hunt, the Shang killed wild beasts with reckless abandon, and consumed hecatombs of domestic animals at a bin banquet or a funeral.
- 2002, Christopher Hitchens, "Martin Amis: Lightness at Midnight", The Atlantic, Sep 2002:
[edit] Quotations
- For examples of the usage of this term see the citations page.
