guillotine
1. a. a device for beheading persons, consisting of a weighted blade set between two upright posts
b. the guillotine execution by this instrument
2. a device for cutting or trimming sheet material, such as paper or sheet metal, consisting of a blade inclined at a small angle that descends onto the sheet
3. Med a surgical instrument for removing tonsils, growths in the throat, etc.
4. (in Parliament, etc.) a form of closure under which a bill is divided into compartments, groups of which must be completely dealt with each day
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
What does it mean when you dream about a guillotine?
Dreaming about having one’s head cut off in a guillotine could indicate a loss of one’s rational perspective on something. Perhaps the dream is a literalizing of the expression “to lose one’s head.” (See also Beheading, Decapitation).
The Dream Encyclopedia, Second Edition © 2009 Visible Ink Press®. All rights reserved.
guillotine
[‚gē·yə′tēn] (graphic arts)
A heavy steel knife used to cut printing plates made of copper, zinc, or magnesium and to trim excess metal from electrotype or stereotype casts.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
bench trimmer, trimming machine, guillotine
A machine for cutting the ends of two pieces of wood to any desired angle.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
guillotine
invented during French Revolution as a humane method of capital punishment. [Fr. Hist.: Benét, 429]
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.