# slaughter
## English
### Alternative forms

* slaughtre (obsolete)

### Etymology

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”).

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˈslɔːtə/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (US) IPA: /ˈslɔtɚ/
* (cot–caught merger) IPA: /ˈslɑtɚ/, [ˈslɑɾɚ]
* Hyphenation: slaugh‧ter
* Rhymes: -ɔːtə(ɹ)
* Homophone: slotter (cot–caught merger)

### Noun

slaughter (countable and uncountable, plural slaughters)
* (uncountable) The killing of animals, generally for food.
* A massacre; the killing of a large number of people.
** 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book VI, 1773, The First Six Books of Milton's Paradise Lost, Edinburgh, page 416,
    For ſin, on war and mutual ſlaughter bent.
** 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2:[…] I ſee Th’ Inſulting Tyrant prancing o’er the Field Strow’d with Rome’s Citizens, and drench’d in Slaughter, His Horſe’s Hoofs wet with Patrician Blood.
* (rare) A mass destruction of non-living things.
** 1962 December, “Motive Power Miscellany: Western Region”, in Modern Railways, page 425:There was a massive slaughter of W.R. steam power at the conclusion of the summer timetable. In all, 169 locomotives were condemned.
* A rout or decisive defeat.
* A group of iguanas.
    Synonym: mess

#### Derived terms

* as a lamb to the slaughter
* come like a lamb to the slaughter
* lamb to the slaughter
* like a lamb to the slaughter
* manslaughter
* self-slaughter
* slaughter animal
* slaughterer
* slaughterhouse
* slaughterman
* slaughterous
* woman-slaughter

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Verb

slaughter (third-person singular simple present slaughters, present participle slaughtering, simple past and past participle slaughtered)
* (transitive) To butcher animals, generally for food.
* (transitive, intransitive) To massacre people in large numbers.
* (transitive) To kill someone or something, especially in a particularly brutal manner.
** c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene ii:Therefore cheere vp your mindes, prepare to fight, He that can take or ſlaughter Tamburlaine, Shall rule the Prouince of Albania.

#### Derived terms

* slaughterer
* self-slaughtered

#### Translations

Arabic: ذَبَحَ (ḏabaḥa)
Egyptian Arabic: دبح (dabaḥ)
Hijazi Arabic: ذَبَح (dabaḥ)
Armenian: մորթել (hy) (mortʻel)
Basque: akabatu
Bengali: হত্যা (bn) (hotta)
Bulgarian: коля (bg) (kolja)
Czech: porazit (cs) pf, porážet (cs) impf
Danish: slagte
Dutch: slachten (nl)
Egyptian: (dnd)
Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: teurastaa (fi), lahdata (fi)
French: abattre (fr)
German: schlachten (de), (Jewish / Muslim) schächten (de)
Alemannic German: metzge
Greek: σφάζω (el) (sfázo)
Ancient: σφάζω (spházō)
Icelandic: please add this translation if you can
Ingrian: tappaa
Italian: macellare (it)
Japanese: 屠る (ja) (hofuru), ばらす (ja) (barasu)
Kven: lahđata
Latvian: please add this translation if you can
Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
Malay: sembelih (ms), menyembelih
Maori: patu mīti
Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
Nahuatl: mictia (nah)
Norwegian: slakte (no)
Polish: szlachtować (pl) impf, zaszlachtować pf, zarzynać (pl) impf, rżnąć (pl) impf, zarżnąć pf, bić (pl) impf
Portuguese: matar (pt), abater (pt)
Romanian: măcelări (ro), tăia (ro), omorî (ro)
Russian: ре́зать (ru) impf (rézatʹ), зареза́ть (ru) impf (zarezátʹ), заре́зать (ru) pf (zarézatʹ)
Spanish: matar (es), carnear (es)
Swedish: slakta (sv)
Turkish: kesmek (tr)
Ukrainian: рі́зати impf (rízaty), зарі́зати pf (zarízaty)
Volapük: pugön (vo), benopugön :

### Anagrams

* Laughters, laughster, laughters, laughtres, lethargus, slaughtre