holocaust

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 Usage notes 1.3.2 Related terms 1.3.3 Translations 1.4 See also 1.5 References 2 Czech 2.1 Alternative spellings 2.2 Noun

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From French holocauste, from Late Latin holocaustum, from the neuter form of Ancient Greek ὁλόκαυστος, from ὅλος (holos), “‘whole’”) + καύστος (kaustos), “‘burnt’”) from καίω (kaiō), “‘I burn’”)

[edit] Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈhɒləkɔːst/

[edit] Noun

holocaust (plural holocausts)

1. A sacrifice to a god that is completely burned to ashes.
2. The annihilation or near-annihilation of a group of animals or people, whether by natural or deliberate agency (e.g., “nuclear holocaust”)
3. The state-sponsored mass murder of an ethnic group. In particular (and often with an initial capital) the “Final Solution”, a euphemism used by the Nazis to describe the mass killing of Jews and others either in camps equipped with industrial gassing and crematorium equipment or by more conventional means.

[edit] Usage notes

• Use of the word holocaust to depict Jewish suffering under the Nazis dates back to 1942, according to the OED. By the 1970s, The Holocaust was often synonymous with the Jewish exterminations. This use of the term as a synonym for the Jewish exterminations has been criticised because it appears to imply that there was a voluntary religious purpose behind the Nazi actions, which was not the case whether from the perspective of the Nazis or from that of the victims. Hence, some people prefer the term Shoah, which means destruction.
• The word continues with its other uses. For example, part of the action of a BBC radio drama by James Follett in 1981 takes place in “Holocaust City”, which by inference was named because the inhabitants were the only survivors of a global nuclear war. A current website, Iraqi holocaust, deals with the atrocities of the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

[edit] Related terms

• caustic
• holo-

[edit] Translations

[edit] See also

• burnt offering
• ethnic cleansing
• pogrom

[edit] References

• Paternoster, Lewis M. and Frager-Stone, Ruth. Three Dimensions of Vocabulary Growth. Second Edition. Amsco School Publications: USA. 1998.

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[edit] Czech

[edit] Alternative spellings

• holokaust m.

[edit] Noun

holocaust m.

1. holocaust (the state-sponsored mass murder of an ethnic group)