What does hecatomb mean?
Definitions for hecatomb
ˈhɛk əˌtoʊm, -ˌtumhecatomb
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word hecatomb.
Princeton's WordNet
hecatombnoun
a great sacrifice; an ancient Greek or Roman sacrifice of 100 oxen
Wiktionary
hecatombnoun
In ancient Greece or Rome, a great feast and public sacrifice to the gods, originally of a hundred oxen.
hecatombnoun
Any great sacrifice; a great number of people, animals or things, especially as sacrificed or destroyed; a large amount.
Etymology: From hecatombe, from ἑκατόμβη, from ἑκατόν + βοῦς.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Hecatombnoun
A sacrifice of an hundred cattle.
Etymology: hecatombe, French; ἐϰατόμβη.
In rich mens homes
I bid kill some beasts, but no hecatombs;
None starve, none surfeit so. John Donne.One of these three is a whole hecatomb,
And therefore only one of them shall die. Dryden.Her triumphant sons in war succeed,
And slaughter’d hecatombs around ’em bleed. Addison.
Wikipedia
Hecatomb
In ancient Greece, a hecatomb (UK: ; US: ; Ancient Greek: ἑκατόμβη hekatómbē) was a sacrifice of 100 cattle (hekaton = one hundred, bous = bull) to the Greek gods. In practice, as few as 12 could make up a hecatomb.Although originally the sacrifice of a hundred oxen in the religious ceremonies of the Greeks and Romans; later "hecatomb" came to describe a large number of any kind of animals devoted for sacrifice. Figuratively, "hecatomb" is used to describe the sacrifice or destruction by fire, tempest, disease or the sword of any large number of persons or animals; and also of the wholesale destruction of inanimate objects, and even of mental and moral attributes.
Webster Dictionary
Hecatombnoun
a sacrifice of a hundred oxen or cattle at the same time; hence, the sacrifice or slaughter of any large number of victims
Etymology: [L. hecatombe, Gr. ; hundred + ox: cf. F. hcatombe.]
Wikidata
Hecatomb
In Ancient Greece, a hecatomb was a sacrifice to the gods of 100 cattle. Hecatombs were offered to Greek gods Apollo, Athena, and Hera, during special religious ceremonies. In the Iliad hecatombs are described formulaically. The following is one instance, from Samuel Butler's translation:
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Hecatomb
hek′a-tom, n. among the Greeks and Romans, a sacrifice of a hundred oxen: a great public sacrifice: any large number of victims. [Gr. hekatombē—hekaton, a hundred, bous, an ox.]
Matched Categories
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of hecatomb in Chaldean Numerology is: 4
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of hecatomb in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4
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"hecatomb." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 May 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/hecatomb>.
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