Dictionary

femicide en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈfɛ.məˌsaɪd/ (General-American)
• /ˈfɛ.mɪˌsaɪd/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From fem- + -icide, ultimately derived from Latin fēmina (“woman”), after the model of homicide, genocide, etc.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The killing of a woman or girl, originally (figurative) with reference to loss of virtue but now usually (law) specifically because of their sex or gender and especially such a killing by a man motivated by misogyny.
   • But when Mexican feminists hit the streets on Valentine’s Day to denounce their country’s worsening femicide crisis, she saw a chance to ensure her mother’s life and death were remembered. 2020 March 7, Tom Phillips, “'This is our feminist spring': millions of Mexican women prepare to strike over femicides”, in The Guardian:
   • Mexico is tied with Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia as the countries with the fourth-highest rates of femicide in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the latest data from the United Nations economic commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, at 1.3 such deaths for every 100,000 women in 2023. 2025 May 14, “Mexican beauty influencer shot dead during TikTok live stream”, in The Guardian, sourced from Reuters, →ISSN:
   • One of the most pernicious nuisances of London is the insistence of voluptuaries, who, relying on the respectability of their rank, and the weight of their purse, endevour in open day to seduce young women who attract their attention in the public streets!... This species of delinquency may be denominated femicide; for the monster who betrays a credulous virgin, and consigns her to infamy, is in reality a most relentless murderer! 1801, John Corry, A Satirical View of London, pages 59-60:
2. (countable, rare, uncountable) A person who commits such an act.

Forms

Hyponyms

transfemicide

Synonyms

gynocide and see Thesaurus:killer · corruption and corrupter · womanslaughter (literal)

Translations (34)

pt feminicídio (killing of women) · da femicide (killing of women) · it femminicidio (killing of women) · ca feminicidi (killing of women) · es feminicidio (killing of women) · ro feminicid (killing of women) · ca femicidi (killing of women) · ro femicid (killing of women) · fr gynocide (killing of women) · ko 녀성살해 (killing of women) · ru фемици́д (killing of women) · ka ფემიციდი (killing of women) · kmr jinkujî (killing of women) · pl kobietobójstwo (killing of women) · ko 여성살해 (killing of women) · sv kvinnomord (killing of women) · ru феминици́д (killing of women) · it femmicidio (killing of women) · ja フェミサイド (killing of women) · fr féminicide (killing of women) · fr fémicide (killing of women) · ja フェミニサイド (killing of women) · de Frauenmord (killing of women) · nl vrouwenmoord (killing of women) · pt femicídio (killing of women) · nl femicide (killing of women) · fi naismurha (killing of women) · nl feminicide (killing of women) · gl feminicidio (killing of women) · gl femicidio (killing of women) · nl gynocide (killing of women) · de Femizid (killing of women) · es femicidio (killing of women) · el γυναικοκτονία (killing of women)