-holocausts-

n. [ L. holocaustum, Gr. &unr_;, neut. of &unr_;, &unr_;, 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. [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]