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abattoir - 4 dictionary results

ab⋅at⋅toir

  [ab-uh-twahr, ab-uh-twahr]
Use abattoir in a Sentence
–noun
a slaughterhouse.
Origin:
1810–20; < F, equiv. to abatt(re) to slaughter (see abate ) + -oir -ory 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ab·at·toir   (āb'ə-twär')   
n.  
  1. A slaughterhouse.
  2. Something likened to a slaughterhouse: "The hand of God and mankind's self-inflicted blows seem equally heavy ... giving a strong cumulative impression of the world as an abattoir" (Manchester Guardian Weekly).

[French, from abattre, to strike down, from Old French; see abate.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Abattoir

A`bat`toir"\ ([.a]`b[.a]t`tw[aum]r"), n.; pl. Abattoirs (-tw[aum]rz"). [F., fr. abattre to beat down. See Abate.] A public slaughterhouse for cattle, sheep, etc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : abattoir
Spanish: matadero,
German: die Schlachterei, das Schlachthaus,
Japanese: 畜殺場
More Translations »

abattoir 
"slaughterhouse for cows," 1820, from Fr. abattre "to beat down" (see abate).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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