Meanings
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1
noun
a machine for executing a person by dropping a heavy blade through the neck
The condemned prisoner was led from the cell to the guillotine.
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2
verb
to execute someone by means of a guillotine
The revolutionary tribunal guillotined the former official after a brief trial.
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3
noun
a parliamentary procedure that sets a fixed deadline for debate on a bill or motion
The government imposed a guillotine to bring the prolonged debate to a vote.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From French guillotine, named after the physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, who advocated a standardized, less painful method of execution during the French Revolution. He did not invent the machine, but his surname became attached to it and then produced the English verb.