This word, abattoir, I found while reading Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. I highly recommend the book to Oz fans who are not so young or faint of heart -- it is an entertaining but heavy thinking read.
The definition, according to the OED:
[mod.Fr. f. abattre to strike down. See abate.] A slaughter house for cattle.
There was never a more appropriate definition -- in this book, there is a distinction made between animals and Animals, the latter being sentient, thoughtful, speaking and soulful beings who have a place alongside humans in society -- a position that is threatened by the usurping tyrant known as the Wizard of Oz. One of the main animal characters in this story is slaughtered in a fashion that is indeed a "striking down" -- he was on the verge of a major scientific discovery on the origins of how animals become Animals. This act is a major turning point for Elphaba, the green-skinned Munchkinlander who will become the Wicked Witch of the West, and also for Galinda, who changes her name (an elision of the vowel "a" after a syntagmatic/social change, i.e. everyone is mispronouncing it anyway) and becomes a witch herself years later.
Add to this the whole backstory of the REAL wicked witch, i.e. Judy Garland's mother, and the Wizard of Oz becomes more appropriate for A&E's Cold Case Files or a Lifetime movie than a family flick at Easter!
See what a little wordsmithing will do? The pen is mightier than the sword, but words are positively atomic!
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