Etymograph

English

fratricide

Fratricide may come from Middle French fratricide.

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fratricide1uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1856fratricide1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English fratricide
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1856, Mrs. William Busk, Mediæval Popes: “The new accusation brought by Urban against Manfred of…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fratricideWiktionary, English fratricideuncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1856fratricideWiktionary, English fratricide. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1856, Mrs. William Busk, Mediæval Popes: “The new accusation brought by Urban against Manfred of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr ‘brother’

brother, bro, pal, brethren, bhai, 10 more

through Latin frāter ‘brother’

fraternity, friar, fra, fraternal, frater, 4 more

Another origin of fratricide

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰréh₂tēr‘brother’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*frātēr‘brother’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrāter‘brother’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrātricīda‘a brother's murderer, fratricide’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fratricideuncertain
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fratricide
  7. Englishtodayfratricide

Today it means

noun The killing of one's brother (or sister).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fratricide”. 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 / Middle French fratricide / fratricide

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