Link Centre Dictionary

murder

mur·der

UK/ˈmɜːdə(ɹ)/ US/ˈmɝ.dɚ/ very common slang uk
noun (1) verb (2)

noun

1.

unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being

Synonyms

verb

1.

kill intentionally and with premeditation

  • “The mafia boss ordered his enemies murdered”
Synonyms
2.

alter so as to make unrecognizable

  • “The tourists murdered the French language”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English murder, murdre, mourdre, alteration of earlier murthre (“murder”) (see murther), from Old English morþor (“secret slaying, unlawful killing”) and Old English myrþra (“murder, homicide”), both from Proto-West Germanic *morþr, from Proto-Germanic *murþrą (“death, killing, murder”), from Proto-Indo-European *mr̥tro- (“killing”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer-, *mor-, *mr̥- (“to die”). Akin to Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌸𐍂 (maurþr, “murder”), Old High German mord (“murder”), Old Norse morð (“murder”), Old English myrþrian (“to murder”) and morþ. The -d- in the Middle English form may have been influenced in part by Anglo-Norman murdre, from Old French murdre, from Medieval Latin murdrum (whence the English doublet of murdrum), from Frankish *morþr, *murþr (“murder”), from the same Germanic root, though this may also have been wholly the result of internal development (compare burden, from burthen and spider, from spiþra). (crows): Attested at least since 1475.

Phrases

  • axe murder
  • axe murderer
  • blue murder
  • capital murder
  • cry blue murder
  • depraved-heart murder
  • depraved-indifference murder
  • felony murder
  • murder one's darlings

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.