slaughter

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To kill animals for food.

   The farmer slaughtered the pig for the winter.

2. 2
   verb

   To kill people brutally and in large numbers.

   Thousands of civilians were slaughtered during the war.

3. 3
   noun

   The brutal killing of a large number of people.

   The battle turned into a terrible slaughter.

4. 4
   noun

   The killing of animals for meat.

   The animals are sent to a separate building for slaughter.

From Middle English slaughter, from Old Norse *slahtr, later sláttr, from Proto-Germanic *slahtrą, from Proto-Germanic *slahaną. Equivalent to slay + -ter (as in laughter). Eventually derived from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, strike, throw”). Related with Dutch slachten, German schlachten, Finnish lahdata (all “to slaughter”).

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