Etymology

feticide

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Today it means: The killing of a fetus or embryo; an induced abortion. Full definition →

First used 19th centuryMiddle French -cide ← Latin -cīda
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The story

  1. Latin · derived from-cīda“cutter, killer”
  2. Middle French · derived from-cide
  3. English todayfeticide

From fetus + -cide or fetus + -icide, from Middle French -cide, from Latin -cīda (“cutter, killer”) and its derivation -cīdium (“killing”), from -cīd (combining form of caedō (“cut, kill”)) + -a (“-er”, forming agent nouns).

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th century The killing of a fetus or embryo; an induced abortion.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.