What does sororicide mean?
Sororicide is a formal term for the act of killing one's sister. It is used especially in legal proceedings, historical writing, and literature, where the relationship between the killer and the victim is important to the description of the crime. Because the word specifically identifies the sister as the victim, it contrasts with fratricide, the killing of a brother, and matricide, the killing of a mother. In ordinary conversation, people are more likely to say “murder” or “the killing of a sister.” Sororicide has a serious and solemn connotation and should generally be reserved for contexts in which the specific relationship and legal or historical significance matter.
nounThe act of killing one's sister. The term is chiefly used in legal, historical, and literary contexts.
- The act of killing one's sister.
"The prosecution alleged that the crime was an act of sororicide rather than an accidental death."
"The historical account describes the killing as sororicide."
"She was charged with sororicide after the death of her sister."
The plural is used when referring to multiple acts of killing a sister.
"The historian documented several sororicides in the region."
Its name preserves one of its most precise distinctions: sororicide means sister-killing, while fratricide means brother-killing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sororicide come from?
The word is formed from the Latin noun soror, meaning “sister,” and the combining form -cide, meaning “killing,” which comes from Latin caedere, “to kill.” The form reflects the same compound pattern found in related English terms such as fratricide and matricide. The word is established in English, particularly in legal and historical usage, though it remains uncommon in everyday speech.
Related word forms
How sororicide is actually used
This is a rare, specialized word. It is more common in legal, academic, historical, and literary writing than in ordinary conversation, and it normally refers to a deliberate act rather than an accidental death.
Easily confused with sororicide
Sororicide is the killing of a sister, whereas fratricide is the killing of a brother.
Sororicide is the killing of a sister, whereas matricide is the killing of a mother.