Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act of killing a king: The crime or action of murdering a monarch who is a king.
   • A person who kills or participates in killing a king: An individual who commits or is responsible for the murder of a king.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Act):

  • The history books detailed the regicide that ended the tyrant's rule.
  • Regicide was considered the ultimate treason in many monarchies.

• Noun (Person):

  • The plotters were condemned as regicides and executed.
  • After the king's death, the regicide fled the country.

Advanced Usage

• Historical/Legal Context: The term is most commonly used in historical, political, or legal discussions about monarchy and treason.
  • The trial focused not just on murder, but on the specific charge of regicide.

Variants and Related Words

• Regicidal (adj): Pertaining to or characteristic of regicide.
  • The court uncovered a regicidal plot.

Synonyms

• Kingslayer: (noun) A person who kills a king. (Less formal)
• Royal assassination: (noun phrase) The murder of a royal figure. (Broader)

Notes on Meaning

• The term is specific to the killing of a king. The killing of a queen is "uxoricide" if she is the killer's wife, or more generally, the killing of any monarch can be referred to as tyrannicide (specifically a tyrant) or monarchicide.

Noun

1. the act of killing a king
2. someone who commits regicide; the killer of a king