Guilʹlotine (3 syl.)

So named from Joseph Ignace Guillotin, a French physician, who proposed its adoption to prevent unnecessary pain (1738–1814).

⁂ It was facetiously called “Mdlle. Guillotin” or “Guillotin’s daughter.” It was introduced April 25th, 1792, and is still used in France. A previous instrument invented by Dr. Antoine Louis was called a Louisette (3 syl.).

The Maiden (q.v.), introduced into Scotland (1566) by the Regent Morton, when the laird of Pennicuick was to be beheaded, was a similar instrument Discontinued in 1681.

“It was but this very day that the daughter of M. d e Guillotin was recognised by her fatber in the National Assembly, and it should properly be called ‘Mademoiselle Guillotin.ʹ”—Dumas: The Countess de Charny, chap. xvii.

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.

Guilʹlotine (3 syl.)

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