hecatomb

[ hek-uh-tohm, -toom ]

/ ˈhɛk əˌtoʊm, -ˌtum /

(in ancient Greece and Rome) a public sacrifice of 100 oxen to the gods.

any great slaughter: the hecatombs of modern wars.

Origin of hecatomb

1585–95; < Latin hecatombē < Greek hekatómbē < *hekatombwā, equivalent to hékaton one hundred + *-bwā, taken to be a derivative of boûs ox (see cow¹)

The temple of Istar had lost a hecatomb; but Belshazzar had, perhaps, been won to faith in his native gods.

Istar of Babylon |Margaret Horton Potter
If you can make a man laugh at himself, you can make him laugh at his nerves—which is better than a hecatomb of bromides.

The Corner of Harley Street |Henry Bashford
Endymion to heaven's airy dome Was offering up a hecatomb of vows, When these words reach'd him.

Endymion |John Keats
The red-capped Company recruits victims for the hecatomb, and over Nantes Town there hangs a pall of unspeakable horror.

Lord Tony's Wife |Baroness Emmuska Orczy

I believe, in different climes, I have already sacrificed an hecatomb to my Nemesis, in pursuance of this vow.

Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9) |Samuel Richardson

hecatomb

/ (ˈhɛkəˌtəʊm, -ˌtuːm) /

(in ancient Greece or Rome) any great public sacrifice and feast, originally one in which 100 oxen were sacrificed

a great sacrifice

C16: from Latin hecatombē, from Greek hekatombē, from hekaton hundred + bous ox