Dictionary

matricide en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From French matricide, from Latin mātricīda (“person who kills his own mother”) and mātricīdium (“the murder of one's mother”). By surface analysis, matri- + -cide.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The killing of one's mother.
   • Gerald was imprisoned for matricide: he strangled his mother.
   • Here the interest was the more compelling because the case of Orestes was unique—not only because matricide was an almost unknown crime, but also because the gods themselves participate in an action in which the slain mother had herself slain the father of her son. 1924, Herbert Weir Smyth, “VIII. Orestea. III: Eumenides”, in Aeschylean Tragedy, page 223:
2. (countable, uncountable) A person who kills his or her mother.
   • Nancy was a matricide; it happened four years ago.

Forms

Deriveds

matricidal

Relateds

infanticide · homicide · uxoricide · genocide · filicide · patricide · regicide · suicide

Translations (50)

cmn 弒母 /弑母 (killing of one's mother) · pt matricídio (killing of one's mother) · ro matricid (killing of one's mother) · sh majkoubica (person who kills their mother) · ca matricida (person who kills their mother) · hi मातृहत्या (killing of one's mother) · pt matricida (person who kills their mother) · ga marfóir máthar (person who kills their mother) · cs matkovrah (person who kills their mother) · hy մայրասպան (person who kills their mother) · mr मातृवध (killing of one's mother) · la mātricīda (person who kills their mother) · cmn 弒母者 /弑母者 (person who kills their mother) · fi äidinmurhaaja (person who kills their mother) · it matricida (person who kills their mother) · sv modermördare (person who kills their mother) · pl matkobójca (person who kills their mother) · fr matricide (killing of one's mother) · de Muttermord (killing of one's mother) · mr मातृघात (killing of one's mother) · ca matricidi (killing of one's mother) · tl matrisida (person who kills their mother) · el μητροκτονία (killing of one's mother) · es matricida (person who kills their mother) · de Matrizid (killing of one's mother) · ru матереуби́йца (person who kills their mother) · sk matkovražda (killing of one's mother) · sv modermord (killing of one's mother) · sh majkoubistvo (killing of one's mother) · uk матеревби́вство (killing of one's mother) · es matricidio (killing of one's mother) · sh materoubistvo (killing of one's mother) · fi äidinmurha (killing of one's mother) · cs matkovražda (killing of one's mother) · fr matricide (person who kills their mother) · ia matricidio (killing of one's mother) · el μητροκτόνος (person who kills their mother) · sk matkovrah (person who kills their mother) · sh materoubica (person who kills their mother) · hi मातृघात (killing of one's mother) · de Muttermörderin (person who kills their mother) · it matricidio (killing of one's mother) · la mātricīdium (killing of one's mother) · pl matkobójstwo (killing of one's mother) · tl matrisidyo (killing of one's mother) · pl matkobójczyni (person who kills their mother) · ru матереуби́йство (killing of one's mother) · id matrisida (killing of one's mother) · kn ತಾಯ್ಕೊಲೆ (killing of one's mother) · de Muttermörder (person who kills their mother)