What does filicidal mean?
Filicidal is an adjective describing something that involves or constitutes the killing of one's own child, whether a son or a daughter. It derives from the Latin nouns filius ('son') and filia ('daughter') combined with the element -cidal, from caedere, 'to kill' — the same ending seen in homicide, suicide, and genocide. The word belongs to formal registers and appears chiefly in law, psychiatry, classical studies, and literary criticism, where it describes acts, impulses, or figures such as Medea in Greek mythology. Because it denotes one of the gravest acts imaginable, it carries an intense and uniformly negative connotation and admits no casual use. Related forms include the noun filicide, which denotes both the act itself and a person who commits it. Filicidal is useful precisely because it is specific: unlike generic terms for murder, it identifies the devastating breach of the parent–child bond at the heart of the act.
adjectiveOf, relating to, or constituting the act of killing one's own son or daughter.
- Relating to or constituting the killing of one's own son or daughter.
"The novel traces a father's descent into filicidal rage and the grief that follows it."
"Medea is literature's most notorious filicidal figure, destroying her own children to exact revenge."
"The psychiatrist's report examined the defendant's filicidal impulses in detail."
From Latin filius and filia — 'son' and 'daughter' — filicidal names one of the darkest words in any language: the killing of one's own child.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of filicidal
Filicidal combines the Latin filius ('son') or filia ('daughter') with -cidal, from Latin caedere ('to kill, to cut down'), the same combining element found in homicide, suicide, and genocide. The base noun filicide was formed on this Latinate pattern, likely in the nineteenth century by analogy with earlier terms such as fratricide and infanticide, and the adjective followed as its derivative. Cognate English words from the same family root (filius/filia) include filial, affiliation, and filiation, all relating to the parent–child relationship.
Related word forms
How filicidal is actually used
A rare, formal, and clinical term, found mainly in legal, psychiatric, and literary-critical writing. It carries an inherently grave connotation and should be used only where literally accurate.
Easily confused with filicidal
Fratricidal refers to killing one's brother (or sibling), whereas filicidal refers specifically to killing one's own child.
Infanticidal applies to killing an infant specifically, while filicidal covers killing a child of any age.