uxoricide
Americannoun
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the act of murdering one's wife.
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a man who murders his wife.
noun
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the act of killing one's wife
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a man who kills his wife
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of uxoricide
Explanation
Uxoricide is the murder of a wife by her spouse. The word also refers to the spouse who commits that crime. Through history, there have been many men either guilty or suspected of uxoricide, including England's King Henry VIII, who had two of his wives executed, and the Roman Emperor Nero, who reportedly also killed two wives. You can use this word for both the act of murder or the murderer himself. It comes from the Latin roots uxor, "wife," and cida, "cutter, killer, or slayer."
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
