n.
Pronunciation: ' gi-l ə - ˌ t ē n; ˌ g ē -(y) ə - ' , ' g ē -(y) ə - ˌ
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Joseph Guillotin † 1814 French physician
Date: 1793
1 : a machine for beheading by means of a heavy blade that slides down in vertical guides
2 : a shearing machine or instrument (as a paper cutter) that in action resembles a guillotine
3 chiefly British : closure by the imposition of a predetermined time limit on the consideration of specific sections of a bill or portions of other legislative business
– guillotine transitive verb