matricide
Americannoun
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the act of killing one's mother.
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a person who kills their mother.
noun
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the act of killing one's own mother
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a person who kills his mother
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of matricide
First recorded 1585–95; from Latin mātricīdium matricide ( def. 1 ), mātricīda matricide ( def. 2 ); see matri-, -cide
Explanation
If someone kills his or her own mother, it's called matricide. You can find plenty of matricide in ancient Greek myths. The suffix -cide is a clue that something murderous is going on with this word: it means "killer," from the Latin -cida, "cutter or slayer." You can find it in words like insecticide and pesticide too. The first part of matricide comes from the root mater, or "mother."
Vocabulary lists containing matricide
The Mother of All Lists: Mater, Matr
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Confessions of a Murder Suspect
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The Once and Future King
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The matricide trial of Orestes, portrayed as a shining moment for Athens by Aeschylus in “The Oresteia,” becomes a nihilistic farce in the hands of Euripides.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
It is a penetrating and restrained portrait of a matricide trial that will leave you moved and changed.
From Seattle Times • May 10, 2023
Presumably, we want a severe social sanction against matricide; parents will certainly think so.
From The New Yorker • Apr. 8, 2019
For these worms, matricide is the rule: They don't lay eggs, even when food is plentiful.
From Science Magazine • Nov. 28, 2018
Outward assent may cover up the most violent disapproval, and parenthood should hardly be offered up in mitigation or extenuation any more than the status of orphanhood should shield the parricide or matricide.
From Child Versus Parent Some Chapters on the Irrepressible Conflict in the Home by Wise, Stephen
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.
