What does parricide mean?
Parricide is a formal noun meaning the killing of a parent, especially a father or mother, and, in older or historical usage, the killing of a ruler or sovereign. It can also denote the person who commits such an act. The word carries a grave moral and legal connotation because it describes an especially serious breach of family, political, and social bonds. In ordinary discussion, parricide most often appears in historical narratives, legal reporting, literature, and discussions of political violence. Its definition is narrower than the general word murder but broader than patricide, which refers specifically to the killing of a father, and matricide, which refers specifically to the killing of a mother. The related term regicide names the killing of a king or queen, while fratricide names the killing of a brother or sibling. Although uncommon in everyday conversation, parricide is notable for preserving the legal and historical distinction between different kinds of unlawful killing.
nounThe killing of one’s father, mother, or another parent, or of a ruler or sovereign. By extension, it can also refer to a person who commits such a killing.
- The killing of one’s father, mother, or another parent or ancestor.
- The killing of a ruler or sovereign.
- A person who commits the killing of a parent, ancestor, ruler, or sovereign.
"The novel explores the psychological aftermath of a parricide."
"The court heard evidence relating to the alleged parricide."
"In ancient Rome, parricide was among the gravest offenses a person could commit."
The plural refers to multiple people who have committed parricide or to multiple acts of parricide.
"The authorities arrested two suspected parricides."
Parricide began as a word for killing a parent or close family member, but its meaning expanded to include the killing of a ruler.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does parricide come from?
English borrowed the word from Latin parricidium, an ancient term associated with parricare, meaning to kill a parent or close family member. The original sense concerned offenses against the family and later extended to the killing of a ruler or sovereign. Related English forms such as patricide, matricide, fratricide, and regicide follow the same Latin compound pattern and use the element -cide, derived from Latin caedere, “to kill.”
Related word forms
How parricide is actually used
Parricide is a formal and strongly condemnatory term, especially in legal, historical, and literary contexts. In modern usage it most often refers to the killing of a parent; its extension to the killing of a sovereign is more historical or figurative.
Easily confused with parricide
Patricide refers specifically to the killing of one’s father, whereas parricide more broadly refers to the killing of a parent or ancestor and, by extension, a sovereign.
Matricide refers specifically to the killing of one’s mother, while parricide is the broader term for the killing of a parent or ancestor.