I would have sworn this was discussed previously, but a search turned up nil.
I was talking to my youngest the other evening. She's about to turn 13. I don't know how the subject came up, but we were talking about the '-cide' words and how curious they are.
I mentioned that I only recently became aware (in maybe the last coupla years) that "suicide" could refer to either the act or the person and that it was the same for "patricide." But a few questions came up.
1. Is it the same for matricide? That is, does 'matricide' refer to both the act of killing one's mother and the person who kills her?
2. I know that fratricide is killing one's brother, but would you call killing one's brother 'sororicide?' Can't say I've ever heard of it.
3. Are there words for killing husband and wife? I vaguely recall something like 'uxicide' ... not that, but something like it. Uxoricide?
thanks,
k
words for killing husband and wife Spouse-aside? (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
uxorcide (n.)
1. A man who murders his wife.
2. The murder of a wife by a husband.
as a network manager, my son named the most used (abused0 printer 'aboricide'
is there a term for mothers like medea, (or like mine) who kill (or attempt to) their children?
i always think of infanticide as the act of killing young children, is it also the name of the person who does it?
there are 171 -icide entries in OED online, two of which is uxoricide with both senses as given above by FS.
WTNI has 92 entries, including:
sororicide, in both senses
filicide, son or daughter - both senses
feticide, defined as illegal abortion
deicide, the killer or killing of a devine being or symbolic substitute thereof
verbicide, this has a picture of TEd in juxtaposition
piscicide, a substance used to kill fish; NOT a fisherman
menticide, cf. brainwashing
mattresicide, the ritual destruction of a mattress gone too soft <j/k>
is there a term for mothers like medea, (or like mine) who kill (or attempt to) their children?
For what it may be worth, Google brought up several hits with the term ‘Medea Complex’. I didn’t peruse the pages, but from what I read, it appeared that the complex does deal specifically with women who kill their own children.
You asked for it, tsuwm
feticide = cooking the fettuccinni too long; or for some, smothering a salad with feta cheese.
piscicide = Urinating on the weeds that grow out of the crack in the ground next to a garage. (not that one could ever kill them)
>verbicide, this has a picture of TEd in juxtaposition
I guess I'm gonna have to do a better job of closing the blinds, even though it was juxtaposition I wanted to try as an experiment.