hécatombe
French, noun/e.ka.tɔ̃b/
hécatombe is spelled H-É-C-A-T-O-M-B-E (9 letters) and appears about once in every 1 million words in written French, the 34,908th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Hécatombe is a French feminine noun meaning “hecatomb (sacrifice to the gods, originally of a hundred oxen)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Sacrifice de cent bœufs ou de plusieurs animaux de différentes espèces que faisaient les anciens”.
What does hécatombe mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininehecatomb (sacrifice to the gods, originally of a hundred oxen)
- 2
femininebloodbath
- 3
femininemass destruction (destruction of a huge quantity of things)
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Sacrifice de cent bœufs ou de plusieurs animaux de différentes espèces que faisaient les anciens. 2. Massacre ; grande effusion de sang ; grand nombre de morts. 3. Taux élevé d’échecs à un examen ou à un concours, résultat désastreux à des élections, dans une compétition sportive, etc.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of hécatombe
- hécatombes plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce hécatombe?
- /e.ka.tɔ̃b/
- \e.ka.tɔ̃b\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to hécatombe
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is hécatombe in French?
hécatombe appears about once in every 1 million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).