Skip to content

femicide

noun

  1. intentional killing or other violent deaths of females (women or girls) because of their gender
L408922 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈfɛ.məˌsaɪd/ / /ˈfɛ.mɪˌsaɪd/

noun

Etymology: From fem- + -icide, ultimately derived from Latin fēmina (“woman”), after the model of homicide, genocide, etc.

  1. The killing of a woman or girl, originally (figurative) with reference to loss of virtue but now usually (law) specifically because of their sex or gender and especially such a killing by a man motivated by misogyny.

    One of the most pernicious nuisances of London is the insistence of voluptuaries, who, relying on the respectability of their rank, and the weight of their purse, endevour in open day to seduce young women who attract their attention in the public streets!... This species of delinquency may be denominated femicide; for the monster who betrays a credulous virgin, and consigns her to infamy, is in reality a most relentless murderer!

    But when Mexican feminists hit the streets on Valentine’s Day to denounce their country’s worsening femicide crisis, she saw a chance to ensure her mother’s life and death were remembered.

  2. A person who commits such an act.