/
ˈhɒləkɔːst/
n.
- destruction or slaughter on a mass scale.
▸
(the Holocaust)
the mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi regime in World War II.
- historical a Jewish sacrificial offering burnt on an altar.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. holocauste, via late L. from Gk holokauston, from holos ‘whole’ + kaustos ‘burnt’.