| 释义 |
holo·caust
I. \ˈhälə]ˌkȯst, ˈhōl- also ˈhȯl- or ]ˌkäst sometimes -lē] or -li] or ]_kəst\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French holocauste, from Late Latin holocaustum, from Greek holokauston, neuter of holokaustos burnt whole, from hol- + kaustos burnt, from kaiein to burn — more at caustic
1. : a burnt sacrifice : a sacrificial offering wholly consumed by fire
2. : a complete or thorough sacrifice or destruction especially by fire
< burned all his books and paper in a giant holocaust >
< thousands of enemy troops consumed in the holocaust — Upton Sinclair >
< an atomic global holocaust — J.B.Conant >
• holo·caus·tic \| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷|kȯstik, -tēk also -|käs-\ adjective
II. noun
1. : a great slaughter ; specifically often capitalized : a genocidal slaughter (as of European Jews by the Nazis during World War II)
2. : disaster
< turn an ordinary matrimonial civil war into an explosive do-or-die end-of-the-world holocaust — J.A.Ornstein >
• holo·caus·tal \¦hälə¦kȯstəl, ¦hōl- also ¦hȯl- or -¦käst-\ adjective |