Butchery \Butch"er*y\, n. [OE. bocherie shambles, fr. F.
boucherie. See Butcher, n.]
1. The business of a butcher. [Obs.]
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2. Murder or manslaughter, esp. when committed with unusual
barbarity; great or cruel slaughter. --Shak.
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The perpetration of human butchery. --Prescott.
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3. A slaughterhouse; the shambles; a place where blood is
shed. [Obs.]
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Like as an ox is hanged in the butchery. --Fabyan.
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Syn: Murder; slaughter; carnage. See Massacre.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
butchery
n 1: a building where animals are butchered [syn: abattoir, shambles,
slaughterhouse]
2: the business of a butcher [syn: butchering]
3: the savage and excessive killing of many people [syn: slaughter,
massacre, mass murder, carnage]
WordNet (r) 2.0
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