Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act of killing one's own father, mother, or other close relative: "Parricide" refers to the crime of murdering one's own parent or a close relative.
   • A person who commits such a murder: "Parricide" also refers to an individual who kills their own father, mother, or other close relative.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Act):
  • The ancient law prescribed severe punishment for parricide.
  • The novel explores the psychological motives behind an act of parricide.
• Noun (Person):
  • The court found the defendant guilty and condemned the parricide to life imprisonment.
  • In the myth, Oedipus is a famous parricide.

Advanced Usage

• Legal and Literary Context: The term is primarily used in formal, legal, historical, or literary contexts to describe this specific, grave crime.
  • The concept of parricide is a recurring theme in Greek tragedy.
• Specificity: While often synonymous with "patricide" (killing one's father) or "matricide" (killing one's mother), "parricide" can be a broader term encompassing the killing of any close relative, though its most common use is for killing a parent.

Variants and Related Words

• Patricide (n): The act of killing one's father; a person who kills their father.
• Matricide (n): The act of killing one's mother; a person who kills their mother.
• Fratricide (n): The act of killing one's brother.
• Sororicide (n): The act of killing one's sister.

Synonyms

• Parent-killer: (Informal) A person who kills a parent.
• Kinslayer: (Archaic/Literary) A person who kills a relative.

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Filial betrayal: A concept related to the profound breach of trust inherent in parricide.
• Oedipus complex: A psychoanalytic theory where a child has unconscious sexual feelings for the parent of the opposite sex and hostile feelings toward the parent of the same sex, sometimes associated in literature with parricidal impulses.

Noun

1. the murder of your own father or mother
2. someone who kills his or her parent