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holocauste

holocaust

noun oh-loh-KOHST Rare
People & Society Government

Origin: From Greek holokauston, from holos (whole) + kaustos (burnt).

Also means

sacrifice by fire

Usage Note

Holocauste with a capital H refers to the Nazi genocide of Jews and others during World War II. With a lowercase h, it originally denoted a burnt offering in ancient religious sacrifice. In contemporary French, the preferred term for the Nazi genocide is la Shoah, which is considered more respectful. Using holocauste in the historical sense may be seen as minimising.

Examples

"L'Holocauste reste une blessure collective."

Natural Translation

The Holocaust remains a collective wound.

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