Guillotine Definition
gĭlə-tēn, gēə-
guillotined, guillotines, guillotining
noun
guillotines
An instrument for beheading by means of a heavy blade dropped between two grooved uprights.
Webster's New World
An instrument, working on a similar principle, as for cutting paper.
Webster's New World
A method of limiting Parliamentary debate on a bill by voting at previously fixed times on specific sections of it.
Webster's New World
A cloture; a motion that debate be ended and a vote taken.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
- closure by compartment
verb
guillotined, guillotines, guillotining
To behead with a guillotine.
Webster's New World
To cut with a guillotine or sharp blade.
American Heritage
To execute, cut or cut short (a person, a stack of paper or a debate) by use of a guillotine.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
Origin of Guillotine
-
From French guillotine, after Dr Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, who proposed its use for capital punishment.
From Wiktionary
French after Joseph Ignace Guillotin (1738–1814), French physician
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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