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Webster 1913 Edition

Fratricide

Frat′ri-cide

,
Noun.
[L.
fratricidium
a brother’s murder, fr.
fratricida
a brother's murderer;
frater
,
fratris
, brother +
caedere
to kill: cf. F.
fratricide
.]
1.
The act of one who murders or kills his own brother.
2.
[L.
fratricida
: cf. F.
fratricide
.]
One who murders or kills his own brother.

Webster 1828 Edition

Fratricide

FRAT'RICIDE

,
Noun.
[L. fratricidium; frater, brother, and caedo, to kill.]
1.
The crime of murdering a brother.
2.
One who murders or kills a brother.

Definition 2024

fratricide

fratricide

English

Noun

fratricide ‎(countable and uncountable, plural fratricides)

  1. The killing of one's brother (or sister).
    • 1856, Mrs. William Busk, Mediæval Popes, Emperors, Kings, and Crusaders: Or, Germany, Italy and Palestine, from A.D. 1125 to A.D. 1268, volume IV, London: Hookham and Sons, OCLC 2480341, page 294:
      The new accusation brought by Urban against Manfred of murdering his sister-in-law's embassador – it may be observed that, tacitly, he acquits him of parricide, fratricide, and nepoticide – requires a little explanation.
    • 2014, Albert Lee Strickland, “Familicide”, in Michael John Brennan, editor, The A–Z of Death and Dying: Social, Medical, and Cultural Aspects, Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 978-1-4408-0344-4, pages 205–206:
      Terms related to familicide include filicide (the killing of one's child or children), uxoricide (the killing of one's wife), fratricide or sororicide (the killing of one's brother or sister), avunculicide (the killing of one's uncle), and nepoticide (the killing of one's nephew).
  2. A person who commits this crime.
    • 1936, H. A. L. Fisher, A History of Europe, Edward Arnold Publishers, p.376,
      The conversion of Russia to Christianity was effected, it would seem by a monster of cruelty and lust. That Vladimir (980–1015) was a fratricide, who maintained 3,500 concubines, has not prevented his canonization as a saint.
  3. (military, by extension) The intentional or unintentional killing of a comrade in arms.
    • 1999, Richard M. Swain, Lucky War: Third Army in Desert Storm, DIANE Publishing, page 180,
      From January on, Third Army also spent a good deal of energy trying to solve the problem of fratricide, the killing or injuring of one's own forces by what is ironically called 'friendly fire,'...

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

French

Noun

fratricide m ‎(plural fratricides)

  1. fratricide (crime)
  2. fratricide (person who commits this crime)

Adjective

fratricide m, f ‎(plural fratricides)

  1. fratricidal

Italian

Adjective

fratricide

  1. feminine plural of fratricida

Noun

fratricide f pl

  1. plural of fratricida

Etymology

From Latin frater ‎(“brother”) + caedere ‎(“to kill”). Equivalent to +‎ -cide.

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