matricide
Americannoun
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the act of killing one's mother.
-
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
- matricidal adjective
Etymology
Origin of matricide
First recorded 1585–95; from Latin mātricīdium matricide ( def. 1 ), mātricīda matricide ( def. 2 ); matri-, -cide
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.
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
By the time Holt is galloping through flames and Vandevere is threatening to kill Dumbo’s mom — matricide being a studio signature — the movie has gone enjoyably bonkers.
From New York Times • Mar. 27, 2019
Braendle's unpublished work shows matricide is actually a plastic response encoded in the genes that, with one more mutation, became permanent.
From Science Magazine • Nov. 28, 2018
A stichomuthic contest ensues; the Furies reproach Apollo with taking the part of a matricide.
From Story of Orestes A Condensation of the Trilogy by Moulton, Richard Green
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.
