guillotine
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guillotine¹
- /ˈɡɪlətiːn/ UK
- /ˌɡɪləˈtiːn/ UK
- /ˌɡiːjəˈtiːn/ UK
- /ˈɡɪləˌtin/ US
- /ˈɡi(j)əˌtin/ US
Where it comes from
Borrowed from French guillotine, named after the French physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (1738–1814), who proposed its use for capital punishment.
noun guillotines
- A machine used for the application of capital punishment by decapitation, consisting of a tall upright frame from which is suspended a heavy diagonal-edged blade which is dropped onto the neck of the person to be executed; also, execution using this machine. For two-and-twenty years he [Joseph-Ignace Guillotin], unguillotined, shall hear nothing but guillotine, see nothing but guillotine; then dying, shall through long centuries wander, as it were, a disconsolate ghost, on the wrong side of Styx and Lethe; his name like to outlive [Julius] Cæsar’s.
- A device used for cutting the pages of books, stacks of paper, etc., to straight edges, usually by means of a hinged or sliding blade attached to a flat platform.
- An instrument with a sliding blade for cutting the tonsils, uvula, or other body parts.
- A parliamentary procedure for fixing the dates when various stages of discussion of a bill must end, to ensure that the enactment of the bill proceeds expeditiously. The right hon. Gentleman is making a great stooshie about time in relation to this Bill, but was it not the case that, when the SNP [Scottish National Party] Scottish Government introduced their continuity Bill in the Scottish Parliament, they operated a ruthless guillotine to prevent proper scrutin
- A legislative motion that debate be ended and a vote taken; a cloture.
guillotine²
- /ˈɡɪlətiːn/ UK
- /ˌɡɪləˈtiːn/ UK
- /ˌɡiːjəˈtiːn/ UK
- /ˈɡɪləˌtin/ US
- /ˈɡi(j)əˌtin/ US
Where it comes from
Borrowed from French guillotiner (“to execute with a guillotine, to guillotine”), from guillotine (see etymology 1) + -er (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs).
verb guillotines · guillotining · guillotined
- To execute (someone) with a guillotine. Many counterrevolutionaries were guillotined during the French Revolution.
- To cut or trim (a body part, a stack of paper, etc.) with a guillotine.
- To end discussion (about a parliamentary bill or part of one) by invoking a guillotine procedure.
- To end (a legislative debate) by invoking cloture.
- To end anything abruptly. Forgetting Solitaire, he almost dragged Bond through the door. At the last moment he remembered the girl and seized her with his other hand and pulled her in too, banging the door shut with his heel so that Mrs Stuyvesant's 'I hope you have a happy...' was guillotined before the 'stay'.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: sash, guillotinement, dry guillotine, guillotinism, headsman, gibbet, garrotte, death, decapitation, death sentence, electrocutioner, decollation, capital punishment, needle, crushing, electric chair
Translations
Every language
noun machine used for the application of capital punishment by decapitation
| Español | guillotina |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 단두대 dandudae, 기요틴 giyotin |
| 日本語 | ギロチン girochin, 断頭台 dantōdai |
| 中文 | 斷頭台 /断头台 duàntóutái |
| हिन्दी | गिलोटिन giloṭin |
| Português | guilhotina |
| Français | guillotine |
| Deutsch | Guillotine, Fallbeil |
| Italiano | ghigliottina |
| Ελληνικά | λαιμητόμος laimitómos, γκιλοτίνα gkilotína, καρμανιόλα karmanióla |
| Română | ghilotină |
| Русский | гильоти́на gilʹotína |
| Tiếng Việt | máy chém |
| العربية | مِقْصَلَة miqṣala |
| עברית | גִּילְיוֹטִינָה gilyotína |
noun device used for cutting the pages of books, stacks of paper, etc., to straight edges
| Español | guillotina |
|---|---|
| Português | guilhotina |
| Français | massicot |
| Deutsch | Papierschneider |
| Ελληνικά | μαχαίρι machaíri |
| Русский | ре́зальная маши́на rézalʹnaja mašína, ре́зательная маши́на rézatelʹnaja mašína |
verb to execute (someone) with a guillotine
| Español | guillotinar |
|---|---|
| Português | guilhotinar |
| Français | guillotiner |
| Deutsch | guillotinieren |
| Italiano | ghigliottinare |
| Ελληνικά | αποκεφαλίζω apokefalízo |
| Română | ghilotina |
| Русский | казни́ть на гильоти́не kaznítʹ na gilʹotíne, гильотини́ровать gilʹotinírovatʹ |
Talk about this word "guillotine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/guillotine. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. guillotine. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/guillotine "guillotine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/guillotine.Cite this
@misc{guillotine_2026,
title = {guillotine},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/guillotine},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
