abattoir

English

WOTD – 7 December 2008

Etymology

Borrowed from French abattoir, from abattre (“to slaughter”) (cognate to abate) + -oir (“-ory”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈæb.əˌtwɑː(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈæb.əˌtwɑɹ/, /ˈæb.əˌtwɑ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ab‧at‧toir

Noun

abattoir (plural abattoirs)

1. A public slaughterhouse for cattle, sheep, etc. [Early 19^th century.]

   Once the cows reach maturity, they're sent to the abattoir.

2. A place or event likened to a slaughterhouse, because of great carnage or bloodshed.

   Synonym: bloodbath

   The army's raid on the enemy turned into a major abattoir.

   • 2017 April 19, Franz-Stefan Gady, “What Would the Second Korean War Look Like?”, in The Diplomat‎^[1]:

     The corridors where North Korean troops would be advancing [in a hypothetical invasion of South Korea] would almost certainly be turned into human abattoirs.

Derived terms

• abattoirlike

 

Translations

public slaughterhouse

• Afan Oromo: moggorraa (om) lafqalii qeeraa
• Afrikaans: slaghuis
• Albanian: thertore (sq) f
• Arabic: مَسْلَخ m (maslaḵ), مَجْزَر m (majzar)

  Egyptian Arabic: سلخانة f (salaxana), مدبح m (madbaḥḥ)

  Moroccan Arabic: ڭرنة f (garna)

• Armenian: սպանդանոց (hy) (spandanocʻ)
• Azerbaijani: sallaqxana
• Basque: hiltegi
• Belarusian: бо́йня f (bójnja), разні́ца f (razníca)
• Bengali: কসাইখানা (bn) (kośaikhana)
• Bulgarian: кла́ница (bg) f (klánica)
• Burmese: သားသတ်ရုံ (my) (sa:satrum)
• Catalan: escorxador (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 屠宰場／屠宰场 (zh) (túzǎichǎng)

• Czech: jatky (cs) f pl, jatka (cs) f pl
• Danish: slagteri n
• Dutch: slachthuis (nl) n, abattoir (nl) n, slachterij (nl) f
• Egyptian: (nmt f)
• Esperanto: buĉejo
• Estonian: tapamaja (et)
• Finnish: teurastamo (fi)
• French: abattoir (fr) m
• Friulian: macel m
• Galician: matadoiro (gl) m
• Georgian: სასაკლაო (sasaḳlao)
• German: Schlachthaus (de) n, Schlachthof (de) m
• Greek: σφαγείο (el) n (sfageío)
• Hebrew: מִשְׁחָטָה (he) f (mishkhatá)
• Hindi: बूचड़खाना (hi) m (būcaṛkhānā), वधशाला (vadhśālā), कसाईखाना (hi) m (kasāīkhānā), वधस्थली (vadhasthalī)
• Hungarian: vágóhíd (hu)
• Icelandic: sláturhús n
• Ido: bucherio (io)
• Indonesian: rumah jagal, abatoar (id)
• Irish: teach coscartha m, seamlas
• Italian: mattatoio (it) m, macello (it) m
• Japanese: 屠畜場 (ja) (とちくじょう, tochikujō), 屠場 (ja) (とじょう, tojō, とば, toba), 畜殺場 (ちくさつば, chikusatsuba)
• Kazakh: қасапхана (qasapxana)
• Khmer: គោឃាតដ្ឋាន (km) (kookhiətatthaan), វធភូមិ (vĕəʼthĕəʼphuum), សត្វឃាតស្ថាន (sattvaʼkhiətaʼsthaan)
• Korean: 도살장 (dosaljang)
• Kyrgyz: кушкана (kuşkana)
• Lao: ໂຮງຂ້າສັດ (hōng khā sat)
• Latvian: lopkautuve f
• Lithuanian: skerdykla f
• Louisiana Creole French: abatwa
• Macedonian: кланица f (klanica)
• Malay: rumah sembelihan, rumah potong, rumah sembelih, pejagalan, pembantaian, penjagalan
• Manx: thie buitçhoorys m
• Maori: wharepatu, whare patu kararehe, whare patu mīti
• Middle English: bocherie
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: abattoir (no) n, slaktehus n, slakteri (no) n

• Ottoman Turkish: سلخانه, مزبع
• Pashto: مسلخ m (masláx), مزبع m (mazbáh)
• Persian: کشتارگاه (fa) (koštârgâh), سلاخ خانه (fa) (sallâx-xâne), مسلخ (fa) (maslax)
• Plautdietsch: Schlachthus n
• Polish: rzeźnia (pl) f, ubojnia (pl) f
• Portuguese: matadouro (pt) m, açougue (pt), abatedouro (pt) m (Brazil)
• Romanian: abator (ro) n, măcelărie (ro) f
• Russian: бо́йня (ru) f (bójnja), скотобо́йня (ru) f (skotobójnja)
• Scottish Gaelic: taigh-spadaidh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: клаоница f

  Roman: klaonica (sh) f

• Slovak: jatka f
• Slovene: klavnica f
• Spanish: matadero (es) m, desolladero m, degolladero (es) m, rastro (es) m
• Swedish: slakteri (sv) n, slakthus (sv) n
• Tagalog: bahay-katayan, lapaan
• Tajik: кушторгоҳ (kuštorgoh), саллоххона (salloxxona), маслах (maslax)
• Thai: โรงฆ่าสัตว์ (th) (roong-kâa-sàt)
• Turkish: kanara (tr) (obsolete), kesimevi, kesimhane (tr), mezbaha (tr)
• Turkmen: gassaphana
• Ukrainian: бо́йня (uk) f (bójnja), скотобі́йня f (skotobíjnja), бі́йня (uk) f (bíjnja), різниця (uk) f (riznycja)
• Urdu: بوچڑخانہ m (būcaṛkhāna)
• Uyghur: قۇشخانا (qushxana)
• Uzbek: kushxona (uz)
• Venetian: maseło m, maçelo
• Vietnamese: lò mổ (vi), lò sát sinh (vi)
• Volapük: pugöp (vo)
• Walloon: abatwer (wa) m

a place likened to be a slaughterhouse

• Dutch: slachtplaats (nl) m
• Ido: bucheyo (io)
• Polish: rzeźnia (pl) f, jatka (pl) f
• Russian: резня́ (ru) f (reznjá), бо́йня (ru) f (bójnja)

See also

• knacker's yard

Further reading

• Abattoir in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• Baraitot

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French abattoir.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌaː.baːˈtʋaːr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: abat‧toir
• Rhymes: -aːr

Noun

abattoir n (plural abattoirs, diminutive abattoirtje n)

1. abattoir, slaughterhouse

Synonyms

• slachthuis, slachterij

Descendants

• → Caribbean Hindustani: batwár
• → Indonesian: abatoar
• → Papiamentu: abatuar
• → Sranan Tongo: abatwar

French

Etymology

From abattre (“to slaughter, butcher”) +‎ -oir (suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.ba.twaʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

abattoir m (plural abattoirs)

1. abattoir, slaughterhouse (place where animals are slaughtered)

   Cet abattoir est vaste et bien aéré. ― This slaughterhouse is large and well-ventilated.

2. (figuratively) abattoir, slaughterhouse (place or event likened to a slaughterhouse, because of great carnage or bloodshed)

   aller à l’abattoir ― to go to the slaughterhouse

   envoyer à l’abattoir ― to send to the slaughterhouse

Descendants

• → Dutch: abattoir
  • → Caribbean Hindustani: batwár
  • → Indonesian: abatoar
  • → Papiamentu: abatuar
  • → Sranan Tongo: abatwar
• → English: abattoir
• → Moore: batoaare
• → Norwegian Bokmål: abattoir

See also

• boucherie
• équarrisseur

Further reading

• “abattoir”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Norwegian Bokmål

An abattoir.

Etymology

From French abattoir.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /abatɔˈɑːr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːr
• Hyphenation: a‧bat‧toir

Noun

abattoir n (definite singular abattoiret, indefinite plural abattoirer, definite plural abattoira or abattoirene)

1. (concerning France) an abattoir (a public slaughterhouse for cattle, sheep, etc.)

   Synonyms: slaktehus, slakteri

   • 1836 October 17, Den Constitutionelle, page 2:

     man betænker, hvilke uhyre mængde kvæg der mellem aar og dag bliver slagtet i Parises abattoirs

     one considers the enormous amount of cattle slaughtered in Paris' abattoirs between year and day

   • 1928 September 13, A-magasinet, page 2:

     abbatoirene [sic] i Rue de Flanders

     the abattoirs [sic] in Rue de Flanders

References

• “abattoir” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).