Definition of massacre

The word "massacre" has its roots in the Spanish Inquisition. In the 15th century, the Spanish used the term "matanza" to describe the brutal slaughter of countless innocent victims, often during massacres and brutal events. The Spanish brought the word to the Americas, where it became "matascanza" in Latin American Spanish. In the 16th century, the English adopted the word and modified it to "massacre", which means the slaughter of a large group of people, often in a brutal and indiscriminate manner. The term gained notoriety during the 17th-century English Civil War, where the term "massacre" was used to describe the brutal killings of Protestants by Catholics at the Battle of Drogheda. Today, the word "massacre" is used worldwide to describe any instance of the intentional killing of a large group of people, often with a sense of shock, outrage, and horror.