guillotine

See also: Guillotine and guillotiné

English
WOTD – 14 July 2021

Pronunciation
The official guillotine (sense 1) of Luxembourg, last used in 1821.
An engraving of Maximilien Robespierre being executed by guillotine (sense 1) on 28 July 1794 for his role in the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.
A guillotine (sense 2.1.1) used to trim the edges of stacks of paper.
A double tonsil guillotine (sense 2.1.2) or tonsilotome, formerly used to excise both tonsils in the throat at the same time.[n 1]
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɡɪlətiːn/, /ˌɡɪləˈtiːn/, /ˌɡiːjəˈtiːn/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɡɪləˌtin/, /ˈɡi(j)əˌtin/
  • Hyphenation: guil‧lo‧tine

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French guillotine, named after the French physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (1738–1814), who proposed its use for capital punishment.[1]

Noun

guillotine (plural guillotines)

  1. (historical, also figuratively) 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.
  2. (by extension)
    1. A device or machine with a cutting blade.
      1. 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.
      2. (surgery) An instrument with a sliding blade for cutting the tonsils, uvula, or other body parts.
        Hyponyms: (for tonsils) tonsillotome, tonsilotome, (for the uvula) uvulotome
    2. (law, politics, informal)
      1. (British) 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.
        • 2019 October 22, Stephen Kerr, Member of Parliament for Stirling, “Second Reading of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill”, in House of Commons Debates (House of Commons)‎, volume 666, archived from the original on 24 October 2019, column 860:
          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 scrutiny of it? That is the case; they ran a guillotine on that Bill, and there was a very limited amount of time allowed for debate and scrutiny, yet he complains about that happening here.
      2. (US) A legislative motion that debate be ended and a vote taken; a cloture.
Derived terms
Translations
instrument for cutting the tonsils, uvula, or other body parts
legislative motion that debate be ended and a vote taken — see cloture

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French guillotiner (“to execute with a guillotine, to guillotine”), from guillotine (see etymology 1) + -er (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs).[2]

Verb

guillotine (third-person singular simple present guillotines, present participle guillotining, simple past and past participle guillotined) (transitive)

  1. To use a guillotine (on someone or something).
    1. (also figuratively) To execute (someone) with a guillotine.
      Many counterrevolutionaries were guillotined during the French Revolution.
    2. To cut or trim (a body part, a stack of paper, etc.) with a guillotine.
  2. (law, politics, informal)
    1. (British) To end discussion (about a parliamentary bill or part of one) by invoking a guillotine procedure.
    2. (US) To end (a legislative debate) by invoking cloture.
Derived terms
Translations

Notes
  1. From the Wellcome Collection in London, England, United Kingdom.

References
  1. “guillotine, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2021; “guillotine, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. “guillotine, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2021; “guillotine, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French guillotine. Named after Joseph-Ignace Guillotin. First attested in the early 1790s.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˌɡi.joːˈti.nə/
  • Audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: guil‧lo‧ti‧ne
  • Rhymes: -inə

Noun

guillotine f (plural guillotines, diminutive guillotinetje n)

  1. guillotine
    Synonym: valbijl

Derived terms
  • guillotineren

French

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ɡi.jɔ.tin/
  • Audio(file)

Etymology 1

From Guillotin. Named after French physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (1738–1814), who proposed its use for capital punishment. The surname is a diminutive of Guillot.

Noun

guillotine f (plural guillotines)

  1. guillotine (machine)
Derived terms
  • guillotiner (“behead with a guillotine”)
  • fenêtre à guillotine (“box sash window”)
Descendants

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

guillotine

  1. inflection of guillotiner:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

Indonesian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French guillotine, Guillot. After Dr Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, who proposed its use for capital punishment.

Noun

guillotine (first-person possessive guillotineku, second-person possessive guillotinemu, third-person possessive guillotinenya)

  1. guillotine (machine).

Further reading

Spanish

Verb

guillotine

  1. inflection of guillotinar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative
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