macabre

macabre
macabre (adj.) early 15c., from O.Fr. (danse) Macabré " (dance) of Death" (1376), probably a translation of M.L. (Chorea) Machabæorum, lit. "dance of the Maccabees" (leaders of the Jewish revolt against Syro-Hellenes; see MACCABEES (Cf. Maccabees)). The association with the dance of death seems to be via vivid descriptions of the martyrdom of the Maccabees in the Apocryphal books. The abstracted sense of "gruesome" is first attested 1842 in French, 1889 in English.
The typical form which the allegory takes is that of a series of pictures, sculptured or painted, in which Death appears, either as a dancing skeleton or as a shrunken corpse wrapped in grave-clothes to persons representing every age and condition of life, and leads them all in a dance to the grave. ["Encyclopaedia Britannica," 11th ed., 1911]

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • macabre — [ makabr ] adj. • danse macabre, danse MacabréXIVe; probablt d un n. pr. Macabé→ macchabée 1 ♦ Danse macabre : représentation allégorique de la Mort entraînant dans une ronde des personnages de toutes conditions. 2 ♦ (1842) Qui a pour objet les… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Macabre — is a quality of certain artistic or literary works, characterized by a grim or atmosphere. In these works, there is an emphasis on the details and symbols of death. Macabre themes are often preoccupations in the Goth subculture. Themes are… …   Wikipedia

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  • macabre — (m[.a]*k[aum] b[ e]r) adj. 1. portraying human injury or death in a way so as to inspiring shock or horror; gruesome; ghastly; as, macabre tortures conceived by madmen. [Also spelled {macaber}.] Syn: ghastly, grisly, gruesome, lurid. [WordNet… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • macabre — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ disturbing and horrifying because concerned with death and injury. ORIGIN French, from Danse Macabre dance of death , perhaps from Macabé a Maccabee (a member of a 2nd century BC Jewish sect led by Judas Maccabaeus), with reference… …   English terms dictionary

  • macabre — [məkä′bərmə käb′rə, mə käb′, məkä′bər] adj. [Fr < OFr ( danse) Macabré, (dance) of death, prob. altered < ML ( Chorea) Machabaeorum, lit., dance of the Maccabees (see MACCABEES): semantic connection obscure] grim and horrible; gruesome;… …   English World dictionary

  • Macabre — (fr., spr. Makaber), 1) in England u. Frankreich ehemals kirchliche Maskerade; 2) der Todtentanz, s.d …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Macabre — (Danse m., franz., spr. dangß makābr ), soviel wie Totentanz (s. d.) …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Macabre — (Danse M., spr. dangs makahbr), s. Totentanz …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

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