Definition

Noun: 1. Butcher (literal): A person whose occupation is slaughtering animals and preparing their meat for sale. This meaning is now considered somewhat archaic. 2. Butcher (figurative): A cruel, violent person who kills or causes the death of many people, often without mercy. This term strongly implies brutality and mass killing.

Usage Examples

• Literal (archaic):
  • Ông ấy từng là một đồ tể. (He used to be a butcher.)
• Figurative:
  • Tên độc tài đó là một tên đồ tể, chịu trách nhiệm cho cái chết của hàng ngàn người. (That dictator is a butcher, responsible for the deaths of thousands.)
  • Bọn đồ tể đã tàn sát dân làng. (The butchers massacred the villagers.)

Advanced Usage

The word is almost exclusively used in its figurative sense in modern Vietnamese to convey strong moral condemnation. It is a powerful and harsh label for perpetrators of atrocities.

Variants and Related Words

• Đồ tể (archaic): The same word, used for the literal profession.
• Kẻ đồ tể: A more common phrasing when referring to the figurative meaning, emphasizing "the person" as a butcher. (e.g., - That butcher has been arrested.)

Synonyms

• Butcher: The direct equivalent for both literal and figurative meanings.
• Slaughterer: One who slaughters.
• Murderer: A person who commits murder (less specific to mass killing).
• Killer: A person or thing that kills.
• Brute: A cruel, violent person.

Related Idioms

• Bàn tay đồ tể: Literally "the hand of a butcher." Used to describe actions or a person that is brutally destructive.
  • Chính sách đó là bàn tay đồ tể với môi trường. (That policy is a butcher's hand to the environment.)

noun

1. Butcher