What does patricide mean?
Patricide is the killing of one's own father, either as an act or as the crime committed. The word may also denote a person who has killed their father. It is strongly associated with dramatic works, especially Greek tragedy, where patricide can represent a profound disturbance of family, religious, and political order. The modern English word comes from Latin, in which pater means “father” and caedere means “to kill.” Although patricide and parricide are sometimes used interchangeably today, parricide is the broader and historically older term: it could refer to the murder of a parent, sibling, or other close relative. In legal and historical contexts, the precise charge depends on the relationship between the victim and the killer. Patricide is consequently a powerful, relatively uncommon word that retains associations with betrayal, violation, and grave moral disorder.
nounThe crime of killing one's own father. By extension, a person who has killed their own father.
- The crime of killing one's own father.
- A person who has killed their own father.
"The novel explores the guilt and social consequences surrounding patricide."
"The detective suspected that the death was not an accident but patricide."
"Greek tragedy frequently portrays patricide as a terrible violation of family and civic order."
The plural is used for multiple people who have killed their own fathers; the crime itself is usually uncountable.
"Both patricides were convicted at separate trials."
Patricide literally combines the roots for “father” and “kill,” making it a particularly stark name for the crime.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does patricide come from?
Patricide comes through Latin patricidium, a term for the killing of a father, formed from pater, meaning “father,” and caedere, meaning “to kill.” The Latin root pater also underlies English words such as paternal, paternity, and patriarch. In modern usage, patricide is distinguished from the historically broader term parricide because it specifies the father as the victim.
Related word forms
How patricide is actually used
Patricide is chiefly a literary, historical, or legal term. In older usage, parricide was the broader term for killing a parent or another close relative, while patricide has consistently referred specifically to killing one's father.
Easily confused with patricide
Parricide originally referred to the killing of a close relative and historically included killing one's father, mother, or brother; patricide specifically means killing one's father.