'Holocaust' origin revisited

This was a thread from a long time ago. Rather than bump it to the top, I’ll just supply the link with this addendum.

If you saw the “History of Britain” on the History Channel a few weeks ago, the term “holocaust” was referred to a purge of Jews in Britain as early as the 12th or 13th century. The modern usage might have arisen independently, though.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=5445