macabre [M19th] One of the medieval miracle plays presented the slaughter of the Maccabees, family members and supporters of Judus Maccabaeus, who led a religious revolt in Judaea in 165 bc. This gruesome event probably gave rise to macabre, ‘disturbing, horrifying’, originally in the phrase dance of macabré [LME], a term for the dance of death or danse macabre (see dance). For this to be the case the ‘r’ in macabre would have to be a popular alteration of macabé, and indeed such French forms are found when Maccabaeus is being referred to. The name Maccabaeus may come from a Hebrew word meaning ‘hammer’.