KILLING AND
KILLERS
Anyone who has
looked at the news lately knows that the human species seems to have an
inordinate propensity for killing things. Similarly, anyone looking at this list of terms
relating to killing will quickly
realize that humans also have an inordinate propensity for making up words about killing things. All of these words end in
'cider from Latin caedere, to kill. Of all of these, though, perhaps the greatest crime of all is verbicide,
the brutal slaughter of our language by incompetents and ignoramuses.
Will the atrocities never end?
ABORTICIDE — killing of a foetus;
abortion; foeticide
AMICICIDE — murder of a friend
BIOCIDE — killing living material
DEICIDE — destruction or killing of a
god
ECOCIDE — destruction of the
environment
FILICIDE — killing of one's own child
FRATRICIDE — killing of one's brother
FUNGICIDE — killing
of fungus
GENOCIDE — killing
of a race or ethnic group
GERMICIDE — substance
that kills germs
GYNAECIDE — killing
of women
HERBICIDE — killing
of plants
HERETICIDE — killing
of heretics
HOMICIDE — killing
of a human being
INFANTICIDE — killing
of an infant
INSECTICIDE — killing
of insects
MARITICIDE — killing or killer of one's husband
MATRICIDE
— killing of one's mother
PARASUICIDE — harmful act
appearing to be an attempt at suicide
PARRICIDE — killing of
parents or a parent-like close relative
PATRICIDE — killing of
one's father
REGICIDE — killing of a
monarch
SIBLICIDE — killing or
killer of a sibling
SORORICIDE — killing of one's
own sister
TAURICIDE — killing or
killer of a bull
TYRANNICIDE — killing or
killer of a tyrant
URBICIDE — destruction of
a city
UXORICIDE — killing of one's
own wife
VATICIDE — killing or
killer of a prophet
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