Etymograph

English

domicide

Domicide comes from Latin domus ‘house, home’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-1‘to build’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dṓm1‘house, home’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domos1‘house, home’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomus2‘house, home’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2001domicide2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin domus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English domicide
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2001, J. Douglas Porteous, Sandra E. Smith: “Currently, no word exists for the action of destroying…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-Wiktionary, Latin domus‘to build’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dṓmWiktionary, Latin domus‘house, home’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domosWiktionary, Latin domus‘house, home’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomusWiktionary, English domicide‘house, home’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2001domicideWiktionary, English domicide. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2001, J. Douglas Porteous, Sandra E. Smith: “Currently, no word exists for the action of destroying…”

The story

Coined by J.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build’

timber, domino, despotic, domaine, toft, teem, 19 more

through Proto-Indo-European *dṓm ‘house, home’

danger, don, domain, dominate, domination, damsel, despot, dominatrix, 20 more

through Proto-Italic *domos ‘house, home’

domesticate, 8 more

through Latin domus ‘house, home’

domestic, donna, dome, dominion, domus, 9 more

Today it means

noun The deliberate destruction of a home or homes.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “domicide”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin domus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dem- / domicide

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