Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1700-1800
Language: French
Origin: , from Joseph Guillotin (1738-1814), French doctor who invented it

guillotine

1 noun
     
NEW! See related topics: PARLIAMENTSCRIME AND LAWNEWSPAPERS, PUBLISHING
guil‧lo‧tine1 [countable]
1SC a piece of equipment used to cut off the heads of criminals, especially in France in the past
2TCN British English a piece of equipment used to cut large sheets of paper
3 British EnglishPGP the setting of a time limit on a discussion in the British parliament:
Opposition leaders accused the government of introducing a guillotine motion to stifle debate.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

ADVERTISING AND MARKETINGANIMALSBANKING
BIOLOGYBUSINESS BASICSCOMPUTERS
CLOTHESDAILY LIFEEDUCATION
FINANCEFOODGRAMMAR
HAIR AND BEAUTYHUMANLAW
MUSICNATURESPORT
STOCKS AND SHARESTECHNOLOGYTRADE