Feminicide
/ˈfɛmɪnɪsaɪd/noun
The killing of women or girls because they are female, especially in a social or political context.
Did you know?Like other -cide words, *feminicide* is built on the Latin root *caedere* (“to cut down, kill”), the same ancient violence hiding inside *homicide* and *suicide*.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
femina
“woman”
Latin
Latin
-cida / -cidium
“killing; act of killing”
16th–19th Century
French/Spanish
féminicide / feminicidio
“the killing of women; later, killing women because they are women”
20th Century
English
feminicide
“a term adopted from Romance-language usage for the killing of women, especially as a gender-based crime”
Modern English
English
feminicide
“the killing of women or girls because of their sex or gender”