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DictionaryRoot: holos
Greek

holos

whole

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A compact elevated view of multiple city blocks devastated by a sweeping conflagration: collapsed buildings, blackened roofless shells, and active flames across the ruins communicate mass destruction rather than an isolated house fire.
noun

holocaust

HOH-luh-kost/ˈhəʊləkɔːst/

Destruction or slaughter on a massive scale.

Etymology
holoGreekwhole
+caustGreekto burn

The roots express something wholly burned, originally a sacrificial burnt offering. That meaning broadened figuratively to massacre or destruction involving large numbers of people.

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