English Explanatory Dictionary

hecatomb

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A great public sacrifice to the gods, originally of a hundred oxen; also, a great number of animals reserved for such a sacrifice.
  2. A great public sacrifice in other religions; also, a great number of animals or people reserved for such a sacrifice.
  3. A great number of animals, people, or things that are sacrificed or destroyed; any great sacrifice; also (generally), a large amount.
verb
  1. To provide (someone or something) with a hecatomb.

Pronunciation

/ˈhɛkətuːm/ /-tɒm/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-hecatomb.wav /ˈhɛkətoʊm/

Word forms

hecatomb hecatombs hecatombing hecatombed

Etymology

The noun is a learned borrowing from Latin hecatombē (“great sacrifice of a hundred oxen, hecatomb”), from Ancient Greek ἑκατόμβη (hekatómbē, “great sacrifice of a hundred oxen, hecatomb; any animal sacrifice or large sacrifice”, from ἑκᾰτόν (hekătón, “hundred”) + βοῦς (boûs, “cattle, cow, ox”)). The verb is derived from the noun.

Synonyms

abundance battalion arseload assload bellyload boatload brimful busload bucketful bucketload butt-ton bumload buttload cartload crapload deal fuckload fuckton fuckwad great deal hantle heap hecatomb helluvalot horseload lashings load lot mampus many mass metric fuckton metric shitload mickle mountain muckle multiplicity multitude pile ream shedload shitful shitload shitton sight slew spadeloads sum superflux ton trainload truckload tun vaultful wagonload
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