See Also: guillotine(medicine)
guillotine(1)(dictionary)
guillotine(2)(dictionary)
guillotine(encyclopedia)
guillotine amputation(medicine)
guillotine 1, noun(dictionary)
guillotine 2, verb(dictionary)

guillotine (sh)




Instrument for inflicting capital punishment by decapitation.

A minimal wooden structure, it supported a heavy blade that, when released, slid down in vertical guides to sever the victim's head. It was introduced in France in 1792 in the French Revolution, though similar devices had been used in Scotland, England, and other European countries, often for executing criminals of noble birth. The name derived from a French physician and member of the National Assembly, Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (1738-1814), who was instrumental in passing a law requiring all sentences of death to be carried out "by means of a machine," so that execution by decapitation would no longer be confined to nobles and executions would be as painless as possible. The last execution by guillotine in France took place in 1977.