Author Topic: Is there a word for that? (Read 17709 times)

Porter · « **on:** February 17, 2010, 01:03:53 PM »

Is there a word to describe killing your own child, like we have for killing one of your parents (fratricide and matricide).

rivka · « **Reply #1 on:** February 17, 2010, 01:07:58 PM »

Laius.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #2 on:** February 17, 2010, 01:25:00 PM »

Infanticide. Or maybe pesticide.

The Genuine · « **Reply #3 on:** February 17, 2010, 02:29:27 PM »

Filicide is specific to one's own children, whereas infanticide could be anyone's.

I am not your attorney, Porter, but I still must advise you against committing any acts of filicide. Go kill one of your kids instead.

Porter · « **Reply #4 on:** February 17, 2010, 04:39:11 PM »

Filicide is what I was looking for. Thanks.

BlackBlade · « **Reply #5 on:** February 17, 2010, 05:22:29 PM »

We need more words with the suffix -cide.

Additional possibilities might be killing: silence, time, joy, buzzes, and switches.

Jonathon · « **Reply #6 on:** February 17, 2010, 05:39:24 PM »

I don't think I've ever heard that word before. Cool.

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #7 on:** February 17, 2010, 06:31:58 PM »

Is it OK if this thread title keeps making me want to say "Qu'est-ce que c'est?"

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #8 on:** February 17, 2010, 09:07:19 PM »

Quote

Is it OK if this thread title keeps making me want to say "Qu'est-ce que c'est?"

No, it's really not. You should get some help for that problem.

rivka · « **Reply #9 on:** February 17, 2010, 10:28:10 PM »

Quote

We need more words with the suffix -cide.

Additional possibilities might be killing: silence, time, joy, buzzes, and switches.

None of those really scans well.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #10 on:** February 17, 2010, 11:05:42 PM »

Well, killing time would be chronocide, no?

rivka · « **Reply #11 on:** February 17, 2010, 11:09:43 PM »

Ah. That could work.

BlackBlade · « **Reply #12 on:** February 18, 2010, 07:50:26 AM »

I kinda like chronocide. I confess a big obstacle is I cannot identify the Latin roots of any of those words I'd be killing, off the top of my head.

pooka · « **Reply #13 on:** February 20, 2010, 06:03:00 AM »

Chronos is Greek, Tempicide would be latin. But the Romans loved using Greek roots.

I thought this thread would be about whether child-killer means someone who kills children or a deadly child.

Porter · « **Reply #14 on:** February 21, 2010, 08:53:55 PM »

Like St. Alia of the Knife, who knowingly killed her grandfather when she was around 5 years old?

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #15 on:** February 21, 2010, 08:57:10 PM »

Yeah, just like that.

Mucus · « **Reply #16 on:** February 22, 2010, 01:39:11 PM »

Alternatively, Childkiller reputation

Porter · « **Reply #17 on:** May 22, 2010, 09:32:50 AM »

Revenge is visiting ill upon those who have wronged you in the past.

Is there a word for visiting good upon those who have righted you in the past?

I'm currently reading The Count of Monte Cristo. Before he runs around as an avenging angel, he first runs around as a [is there a word for this?]ing angel.

The Genuine · « **Reply #18 on:** May 22, 2010, 11:36:04 AM »

Meed or guerdon.

Jonathon · « **Reply #19 on:** May 22, 2010, 02:54:51 PM »

The best I can come up with is repay, but that's more of a neutral term.

Porter · « **Reply #20 on:** May 22, 2010, 09:06:03 PM »

I don't know which is more annoying -- the fact that English is such a bloated language with so many needless synonyms and ludicrously-specific words, or the occasions when I want a specific word to exist and it's not there.

The Genuine · « **Reply #21 on:** May 22, 2010, 10:34:23 PM »

I can't tell if that's a joke or not.

It's not like English, or any other spoken language except for Esperanto, was designed.

rivka · « **Reply #22 on:** May 22, 2010, 11:24:44 PM »

Redeem? Redeeming angel works, I think.

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #23 on:** May 23, 2010, 01:00:42 AM »

Porter, you're so ungrateful. Do you know that there are little children in China right now who don't even have needless synonyms and ludicrously-specific words?

rivka · « **Reply #24 on:** May 23, 2010, 01:22:53 AM »