hecatomb

[ hek-uh-tohm, -toom ]

noun

1. (in ancient Greece and Rome) a public sacrifice of 100 oxen to the gods.
2. any great slaughter:

   the hecatombs of modern wars.

hecatomb

/ ˈhɛkəˌtəʊm; -ˌtuːm /

noun

1. (in ancient Greece or Rome) any great public sacrifice and feast, originally one in which 100 oxen were sacrificed
2. a great sacrifice

Word History and Origins

Origin of hecatomb¹

1585–95; < Latin hecatombē < Greek hekatómbē < *hekatombwā, equivalent to hékaton one hundred + *-bwā, taken to be a derivative of boûs ox ( cow ¹ )

Word History and Origins

Origin of hecatomb¹

C16: from Latin hecatombē, from Greek hekatombē, from hekaton hundred + bous ox

Example Sentences

If I may say so, the great hecatomb of pigs you describe on farm has not taken place.

From BBC

This, in a nutshell, is the catastrophic and unprecedented hecatomb that Brazil found itself locked in by mid-April 2021.

From Scientific American

“They get caught and I think it’s very good there is a hecatomb right now. It shows that things are being done for a cleaner sport.”

From Seattle Times

But amid the ensuing hecatomb of the Tet Offensive four years later, LBJ announced he would not run for a second term.

From BBC

Unbeknown to them, Mr. Renzi writes, the liberal leaders were sitting “in a hecatomb.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• bloodshed
• butchery
• crime
• havoc
• killing
• mass murder
• slaughter
• slaying
• warfare