holocaust

Hol"o*caust, n. Etym: [L. holocaustum, Gr. "o'los whole + kaysto`s burnt, fr. kai`ein to burn (cf. Caustic): cf. F. holocauste.] 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. Note: [An extended use not authorized by careful writers.]

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