hecatomb
Americannoun
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(in ancient Greece and Rome) a public sacrifice of 100 oxen to the gods.
-
any great slaughter.
the hecatombs of modern wars.
noun
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(in ancient Greece or Rome) any great public sacrifice and feast, originally one in which 100 oxen were sacrificed
-
a great sacrifice
Etymology
Origin of hecatomb
1585–95; < Latin hecatombē < Greek hekatómbē < *hekatombwā, equivalent to hékaton one hundred + *-bwā, taken to be a derivative of boûs ox ( see cow 1)
Vocabulary lists containing hecatomb
National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 3
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Spoon River Anthology
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If I may say so, the great hecatomb of pigs you describe on farm has not taken place.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2021
But amid the ensuing hecatomb of the Tet Offensive four years later, LBJ announced he would not run for a second term.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2019
The French Revolution had resurrected the idea of democracy – and produced a hecatomb on a grand scale.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 11, 2018
The arrival of newlywed Criminologist Hatch and his bride in a sleepy Pennsylvania village precipitates a hecatomb.
From Time Magazine Archive
Were all undue anxiety Eliminated from desire, Could feverish fears and fancies be Consumèd on some funeral pyre, Like holy hecatomb or sacrifice, 'Twould be accepted up in Paradise.
From Poems Vol. IV by Howard, Hattie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
