guillotine Hear it!

guillotine definition

guil·lo·tine (gil′ə tēn′, gē′ə-; for v., also gil′ə tēn′, gē′ə-)

noun

  1. an instrument for beheading by means of a heavy blade dropped between two grooved uprights
  2. an instrument, working on a similar principle, as for cutting paper
  3. Brit. a method of limiting Parliamentary debate on a bill by voting at previously fixed times on specific sections of it

Etymology: Fr, after J. I. Guillotin (1738-1814), Fr physician who advocated its use during the French Revolution in preference to less humane methods

transitive verb guillotined -·tined′, guillotining -·tin′·ing

to behead with a guillotine

Etymology: Fr guillotiner < the n.

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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