| chat, to converse |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
murder (ˈmɜːdə) ![]() | |
| —n | |
| 1. | manslaughter Compare homicide the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another |
| 2. | informal something dangerous, difficult, or unpleasant: driving around London is murder |
| 3. | informal cry blue murder to make an outcry |
| 4. | informal get away with murder to escape censure; do as one pleases |
| —vb | |
| 5. | (also intr) to kill (someone) unlawfully with premeditation or during the commission of a crime |
| 6. | to kill brutally |
| 7. | informal to destroy; ruin: he murdered her chances of happiness |
| 8. | informal to defeat completely; beat decisively: the home team murdered their opponents |
| [Old English morthor; related to Old English morth, Old Norse morth, Latin mors death; compare French meurtre] | |
| 'murderer | |
| —n | |
| 'murderess | |
| —fem n | |
"Mordre wol out that se we day by day." [Chaucer, "Nun's Priest's Tale," c.1386]Weakened sense of "very unpleasant situation" is from 1878. The verb is O.E. myrðrian, from P.Gmc. *murthjan. Related: Murdered; murdering.
murder definitionand slaughter
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Wilful murder was distinguished from accidental homicide, and was invariably visited with capital punishment (Num. 35:16, 18, 21, 31; Lev. 24:17). This law in its principle is founded on the fact of man's having been made in the likeness of God (Gen. 9:5, 6; John 8:44; 1 John 3:12, 15). The Mosiac law prohibited any compensation for murder or the reprieve of the murderer (Ex. 21:12, 14; Deut. 19:11, 13; 2 Sam. 17:25; 20:10). Two witnesses were required in any capital case (Num. 35:19-30; Deut. 17:6-12). If the murderer could not be discovered, the city nearest the scene of the murder was required to make expiation for the crime committed (Deut. 21:1-9). These offences also were to be punished with death, (1) striking a parent; (2) cursing a parent; (3) kidnapping (Ex. 21:15-17; Deut. 27:16).
murder
In addition to the idiom beginning with murder, also see get away with (murder); scream bloody murder.
murder
in criminal law, the unjustified killing of one person by another, usually distinguished from the crime of manslaughter by the element of malice aforethought. See homicide.
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