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.

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.]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)