Parricide

//ˈpæ.ɹɪ.saɪd// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Someone who kills a relative, especially a parent.

    "I told him the reuenging Gods, / ’Gainst Paricides did all the thunder bend […]"

  2. 2
    The killing of a relative, especially a parent. countable, uncountable

    "The new accusation brought by Urban against Manfred of murdering his sister-in-law's embassador – it may be observed that, tacitly, he acquits him of parricide, fratricide, and nepoticide – requires a little explanation."

  3. 3
    the murder of your own father or mother wordnet
  4. 4
    Someone who commits treason.
  5. 5
    The killing of a ruler, or other authority figure; treason. countable, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    someone who kills his or her parent wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
parenticideaborticidefratricidefungicidegenocidegenticide

Example

More examples

"I told him the reuenging Gods, / ’Gainst Paricides did all the thunder bend […]"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle French parricide, from Latin parricīda, of uncertain origin, perhaps from pār (“equal”).

Etymology 2

From Middle French parricide, from Latin parricīdium, of uncertain origin, perhaps from pār (“equal”).

More for "parricide"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.