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MASSACRE

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Originally appearing in Volume V17, Page 863 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MASSACRE , a wholesale indiscriminate killing of persons, and also, in a transferred sense, of animals. The word is adopted from the See also:

French; but its origin is obscure. The meaning and the old See also:form macecle seem to point to it being a corruption of the See also:Lat. macellum, See also:butcher's See also:shop or See also:shambles, hence See also:meat See also:market; this is probably from the See also:root mac-, seen in µhxeoOat, to fight, µaXalpa, See also:sword, and Lat. mactare, to See also:sacrifice. Another derivation connects with the Old See also:Low Ger. matsken, to cut in pieces; cf. mod. Ger. metzeln, to massacre.

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