Definition

1. Noun:
   • The murder of a wife by her husband: The act or crime of killing one's own wife.
   • A husband who murders his wife: A man who has killed his wife.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Act/Crime):
  • The prosecutor argued the case was a clear act of uxoricide.
  • The historical records show several accusations of uxoricide among the nobility.
• Noun (Person):
  • The court found him guilty and sentenced the uxoricide to life imprisonment.
  • In the play, the king is revealed to be an uxoricide.

Advanced Usage

• The term is used primarily in legal, criminological, or formal literary/ historical contexts. It is a technical and specific term, not used in everyday conversation.
• It belongs to a set of specific Latin-derived terms for types of murder, such as (killing of a brother), (killing of a sister), and (killing of a husband).

Variants and Related Words

• Mariticide (noun): The murder of a husband by his wife; a wife who murders her husband.
• Femicide (noun): The killing of a woman or girl, particularly by a man, on account of her gender. (This is a broader, more modern sociological term that can encompass uxoricide.)

Synonyms

• For the act: Wife-murder, spousal homicide (specifically patricidal).
• For the person: Wife-killer, wife-murderer.

Notes on Meaning

• The dual meaning (both the act and the person who commits it) is common for many "-cide" words in English (e.g., , ).
• The term implies a specific familial relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. It is not used for a man who kills a woman who is not his wife.

Noun

1. the murder of a wife by her husband
2. a husband who murders his wife