patricide

[pa-truh-sahyd, pey‑]

noun

1. the act of killing one's own father.

2. a person who commits such an act.

patricide

/ ˈpætrɪˌsaɪd /

noun

1. the act of killing one's father

2. a person who kills his father

Other Word Forms

• patricidal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of patricide¹

First recorded in 1585–95; patri- + -cide

Example Sentences

He was closest to finding out their secret before taking part in patricide, a crime the universe doesn’t easily excuse.

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“It is a story about patricide and the consequences,” he said by phone from Lyon, France, referring to the death of the Marquis of Calatrava.

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Dreaming of patricide — symbolically, for now — is the glue binding them together at present.

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This is all unfortunate, because it clouds the story’s inherent dramas: patricide, assault, forced eviction, flooding, racism, pseudoscience.

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Lamb Rated R for matricide, patricide and kidnapping.

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