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fratricide - 5 dictionary results

frat⋅ri⋅cide

  [fra-tri-sahyd, frey-]
Use fratricide in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who kills his or her brother.
2. the act of killing one's brother.
Origin:
1490–1500; (def. 1) < MF < frātricīda, equiv. to frātri- (comb. form of frāter) brother + -cīda -cide; (def. 2) < MF < LL frātricīdium, equiv. to frātricīd(a) + -ium n. suffix

Related forms:
frat⋅ri⋅cid⋅al, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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frat·ri·cide   (frāt'rĭ-sīd')   
n.  
  1. The killing of one's brother or sister.
  2. One who has killed one's brother or sister.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin frātricīdium and frātricīda : frāter, frātr-, brother; see bhrāter- in Indo-European roots + -cīdium and -cīda, -cide.]
frat'ri·cid'al (-sīd'l) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Fratricide

Frat"ri*cide\, n. [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's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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fratricide 
1450, from L. fratricida, from frater "brother" + cida "killer," or cidum "a killing," both from caedere "to kill, to cut down" (see concise).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: frat·ri·cide
Pronunciation: 'fra-tr&-"sId
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French, from Latin fratricida, from fratr- frater brother + -cida killing
1 : one that murders or kills his or her own brother or sister or an individual (as a countryman) having a relationship like that of a brother or sister
2 : the act of a fratricide —frat·ri·cid·al /"fra-tr&-'sId-&l/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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