holocaust

holocaust · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*keh₂w-
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*solh₂-“whole”
3. Ancient Greek · derived fromὁλόκαυστον
4. Late Latin · derived fromholocaustum
5. Old French · derived fromholocauste
6. Anglo-Norman · derived fromholocauste
7. Middle English · inherited fromholocaust“burnt offering”
8. English todayholocaust

The noun is derived from Middle English holocaust (“burnt offering”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman holocauste, Old French holocauste, olocauste (modern French holocaust), from Late Latin holocaustum, from Ancient Greek ὁλόκαυστον (holókauston), the neuter form of ὁλόκαυστος (holókaustos, “wholly burnt”), from ὅλος (hólos, “entire, whole”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- (“whole”)) + καυστός (kaustós, “burnt”) (from καίω (kaíō, “to burn, burn up”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂w-). By surface analysis, holo- + -caust. The verb is derived from the noun. As regards verb sense 3 (“to subject (a group of people) to a holocaust”), compare the use of genocide as a verb.

Holocaust · proper noun, verb²

Ellipsis of Jewish holocaust.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 13th c. An offering or sacrifice to a deity that is completely burned to ashes.
• from 20th c. Alternative letter-case form of Holocaust (“the systematic mass murder (democide or genocide) of Jews (and, more broadly, of disabled people, homosexuals, Romanis, Slavs, and others) perpetrated by Nazi Germany shortly before and during World War II”); hence, the state-sponsored mass murder of a particular group of people in society.