MASSACRE  , a wholesale indiscriminate killing of persons, and also, in a transferred sense, of animals . The word is adopted from the See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French; but its origin is obscure . The meaning and the old See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form macecle seem to point to it being a corruption of the See also:

• LAT

Lat. macellum, See also:

• BUTCHER

butcher's See also:

• SHOP

shop or See also:

• SHAMBLES

shambles, hence See also:

• MEAT

meat See also:

• MARKET (Lat. mercatus, trade or place of trade)

market; this is probably from the See also:

• ROOT (late O.E. rot, adopted from Scand., cf. Norw. and Swed. rot, Dan. rod; the true O.E. word was wyrt, plant, represented in Ger. Wurz or Wurzel; the ultimate root is the same in both words, and is seen in Lat. radix)
• ROOT, ELIHU (1845– )

root mac-, seen in µhxeoOat, to fight, µaXalpa, See also:

• SWORD (0. Eng. sweord; ultimately from an Indo-European root meaning to wound)

sword, and Lat. mactare, to See also:

• SACRIFICE (from Lat. sacrificium; sacer, holy, and facere, to make)

sacrifice . Another derivation connects with the Old See also:

• LOW, SETH (1850- )
• LOW, WILL HICOK (1853- )

Low Ger. matsken, to cut in pieces; cf. mod . Ger. metzeln, to massacre .