Butcherer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Someone who slaughters animals and prepares meat for sale or consumption ; a person who handles or processes meat poorly or clumsily
2. An individual specializing in killing livestock and cutting meat ; one who ruins or botches a task, often related to meat preparation
3. A professional who kills animals and divides meat for markets or customers ; someone who makes serious errors or mishandles the cutting or preparation of meat

Etymology: "Butcherer" is a plain compound of "butcher" and the agent suffix "-er," meaning one who performs the action. The base word "butcher" has its own older history: it came into English from Anglo-Norman "bocher," which meant one who slaughters goats or male goats, from "boc," goat. The noun "butcherer" is attested since the 1640s, and its meaning has stayed close to the literal work of killing animals and dividing their meat. The word has also taken on a figurative sense: someone who ruins a job through clumsy work or serious error. A surgeon who botches an operation or a cook who mangles a joint of meat can both be called a butcherer, and that extension has kept the word useful well beyond the market stall.

Synonyms: meat cutter, slaughterer

Antonyms: vegetarian, herbivore