Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Butcher \Butch"er\, n. [OE. bochere, bochier, OF. bochier, F.
   boucher, orig., slaughterer of buck goats, fr. OF. boc, F.
   bouc, a buck goat; of German or Celtic origin. See {Buck} the
   animal.]
   1. One who slaughters animals, or dresses their flesh for
      market; one whose occupation it is to kill animals for
      food.

   2. A slaughterer; one who kills in large numbers, or with
      unusual cruelty; one who causes needless loss of life, as
      in battle. ``Butcher of an innocent child.'' --Shak.

   {Butcher bird} (Zo["o]l.), a species of shrike of the genus
      {Lanius}.

   Note: The {Lanius excubitor} is the common butcher bird of
         Europe. In England, the bearded tit is sometimes called
         the {lesser butcher bird}. The American species are
         {L.borealis}, or {northern butcher bird}, and {L.
         Ludovicianus} or {loggerhead shrike}. The name butcher
         bird is derived from its habit of suspending its prey
         impaled upon thorns, after killing it.

   {Butcher's meat}, such flesh of animals slaughtered for food
      as is sold for that purpose by butchers, as beef, mutton,
      lamb, and pork.