holocaust Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an act of mass destruction and loss of life (especially in war or by fire)
    • a nuclear holocaust
  2. noun the mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi regime from 1941 until 1945
    final solution.

WordNet


Hol"o*caust noun
Etymology
L. holocaustum, Gr. , neut. of , , burnt whole; "o'los whole + kaysto`s burnt, fr. kai`ein to burn (cf. Caustic): cf. F. holocauste.
Definitions
  1. A burnt sacrifice; an offering, the whole of which was consumed by fire, among the Jews and some pagan nations. Milton.
  2. Sacrifice or loss of many lives, as by the burning of a theater or a ship. An extended use not authorized by careful writers.

Webster 1913