from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Holocaust \Hol"o*caust\, n. [L. holocaustum, Gr. ?, neut. of ?,
?, burnt whole; "o'los whole + kaysto`s burnt, fr. kai`ein to
burn (cf. {Caustic}): cf. F. holocauste.]
1. A burnt sacrifice; an offering, the whole of which was
consumed by fire, among the Jews and some pagan nations.
--Milton.
[1913 Webster]
2. Sacrifice or loss of many lives, as by the burning of a
theater or a ship.
Note: [An extended use not authorized by careful writers.]
[1913 Webster]
3. Specifically: The mass killing of millions of Jews by the
Nazis during the period from 1933 to 1945 in Germany and
German-occupied lands; usually referred to as {The
Holocaust}. In Hebrew, the same event is referred to by
the word {Shoah}.
[PJC]