AskDefine | Define homicide

Dictionary Definition

homicide n : the killing of a human being by another human being

User Contributed Dictionary

English

Etymology

homicida, man-slayer, and homicidium, manslaughter

Pronunciation

Noun

  1. The killing of one person by another, whether premeditated or unintentional.
  2. A person who kills another.
  3. In the context of "countable|US|police jargon": A victim of homicide; a person who has been unlawfully killed by someone else.

Quotations

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

the killing of one person by another
a person who kills another
police jargon: a victim of homicide
Translations to be checked

Extensive Definition

Homicide (Latin homicidium, homo human being + caedere to cut, kill) refers to the act of killing another human being. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English. Homicide is not always an illegal act.

Homicidal crimes

Criminal homicide is a malum in se crime, and every legal system contains some form of prohibition or regulation of criminal homicide.
Homicidal crimes in some criminal jurisdictions include:
Many forms of homicide have their own term based on the person being killed.

Non-criminal homicide

Homicides do not always involve a crime. Sometimes the law allows homicide by allowing certain defenses to criminal charges. One of the most recognized is self defense, which provides that a person is entitled to commit homicide to protect his or her own life from a deadly attack.

State-sanctioned homicide

Homicides may also be non-criminal when conducted with the sanction of the state. The most obvious example is capital punishment, in which the state determines that a person should die, but homicides committed during war are usually not subject to criminal prosecution as well.

References

See also

homicide in Arabic: قتل
homicide in German: Tötungsdelikt
homicide in Spanish: Homicidio
homicide in Persian: قتل
homicide in French: Homicide
homicide in Croatian: Ubojstvo
homicide in Italian: Omicidio
homicide in Hebrew: הריגה
homicide in Simple English: Homicide
homicide in Serbo-Croatian: Ubojstvo
homicide in Finnish: Henkirikos

Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words

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