slaughter

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 (both “to slaughter”).

noun

1. (uncountable) The killing of animals, generally for food.
2. 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.
3. (rare) A mass destruction of non-living things.
   There was a massive slaughter of W.R. steam power at the conclusion of the summer timetable. In all, 169 locomotives were condemned. 1962 December, “Motive Power Miscellany: Western Region”, in Modern Railways, page 425
4. A rout or decisive defeat.
5. A group of iguanas.

verb

1. (transitive) To butcher animals, generally for food.
2. (transitive, intransitive) To massacre people in large numbers.
3. (transitive) To kill someone or something, especially in a particularly brutal manner.