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abattoir
5 dictionary results for: abattoir
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ab·at·toir       [ab-uh-twahr, ab-uh-twahr] Pronunciation Key
–noun
a slaughterhouse.

[Origin: 1810–20; < F, equiv. to abatt(re) to slaughter (see abate) + -oir -ory2]
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ab·at·toir       (āb'ə-twär')  Pronunciation Key 
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.]

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
abattoir 
"slaughterhouse for cows," 1820, from Fr. abattre "to beat down" (see abate).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
abattoir

noun
a building where animals are butchered 

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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