FRATRICIDE


Meaning of FRATRICIDE in English

/ ˈfrætrɪsaɪd; NAmE / noun [ U , C ]

1.

( formal ) the crime of killing your brother or sister; a person who is guilty of this crime

—compare matricide , parricide , patricide

2.

the crime of killing people of your own country or group; a person who is guilty of this crime

►  frat·ri·cidal / ˌfrætrɪˈsaɪdl; NAmE / adjective :

to be engaged in a fratricidal struggle

••

WORD ORIGIN

late 15th cent. (denoting a person who kills their brother or sister, derived from Latin fratricida ): the primary current sense comes via French from late Latin fratricidium , from frater brother + -cidium , from caedere kill.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.