Definition

Noun: 1. The act of killing one's own husband: Specifically, the murder of a husband by his wife. 2. A person who commits such an act: A wife who murders her husband.

Usage

• As a term for the act: "Mariticide" is used in legal, criminological, and sociological contexts to classify a specific type of homicide.
• As a term for the perpetrator: The word can also refer to the wife who commits the murder.

Examples

• Referring to the act:
  • The court case centered on a shocking act of mariticide.
  • Historical records from that era contain several alleged cases of mariticide.
• Referring to the person:
  • The convicted mariticide was sentenced to life imprisonment.
  • In the play, the queen is portrayed as a mariticide.

Advanced Usage

• Legal Distinction: In legal terminology, "mariticide" specifies the relationship (spousal) and the gender of the victim (male) and perpetrator (female). This distinguishes it from uxoricide (the murder of a wife by her husband) and the more general spousal murder or conjugal homicide.

Variants and Related Words

• Uxoricide (noun): The murder of a wife by her husband.
• Fratricide (noun): The killing of one's brother.
• Sororicide (noun): The killing of one's sister.
• Parricide (noun): The killing of a close relative, especially a parent.
• Patricide (noun): The killing of one's father.
• Matricide (noun): The killing of one's mother.

Synonyms

• (For the act): Husband-killing, spousal murder (specifying the husband as victim).
• (For the person): Husband-killer.

Noun

1. the murder of a husband by his wife