Hecatomb
/ˈhɛk.ə.tuːm/noun
A large public sacrifice, originally of one hundred cattle in ancient Greek religion.
Did you know?The word comes from ancient Greek sacrifice language, where a hekatombē was literally a “hundred-ox” offering to the gods, showing how power was once spoken through ritual counting.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
“Root for “hundred” and “ox” ultimately underlying the later compound”
Ancient Greek
Greek
“hekatombē, a sacrifice of one hundred cattle”
Classical Latin
Latin
hecatombe
“a hecatomb, a great sacrifice”
Middle French
Old French
hecatombe
“a hecatomb; a large slaughter or sacrifice”
Early Modern English
English
hecatombe
“a sacrifice of many animals; later, a great slaughter”
Modern English
English
hecatomb
“a great sacrifice or slaughter, especially on a large scale”
Explore more surprising origins