hecatomb
UK /ˈhɛkətuːm/ · US /ˈhɛkətoʊm/ noun, verb
Forms hecatombs hecatombing hecatombed
- noun (Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, historical) A great public sacrifice to the gods, originally of a hundred oxen; also, a great number of animals reserved for such a sacrifice.
- noun (by extension, religion, historical) A great public sacrifice in other religions; also, a great number of animals or people reserved for such a sacrifice.
- noun (figuratively, literary and poetic) A great number of animals, people, or things that are sacrificed or destroyed; any great sacrifice; also (generally), a large amount.
- verb (transitive) To provide (someone or something) with a hecatomb.
Synonyms
abundance battalion arseload assload bellyload boatload brimful busload bucketful bucketload butt-ton bumload buttload cartload crapflood crapload deal fuckload fuckton fuckwad
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.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A sacrifice of a hundred oxen or cattle at the same time; hence, the sacrifice or slaughter of any large number of victims.
Etymology [L. hecatombe, Gr. hécatombe.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “hecatomb”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details