Meanings
- uncountableThe act of killing an enemy.
Oh let me in, or witness suicide, Or see me turn on thee a hosticide!
1888, W. H. Bakewell, Vision of Faith in the Dream of Time, page 1874 more examples
VVith vinegar make ſpear the ſpoil divide, And lancepreſado be to hoſticide:
1666, William Austin, Ἐπιλοιμια ἐπη. Or, the Anatomy of the Pestilence, page 92how can I be safe when so many are privy to our hosticide, as your Lordship terms the death of Overbury.
1822, Robert Carr, Blighted Ambition, page 352For the argument that Milton advocated not regicide but tyrannicide and hosticide, see also Dzelzainis, 'Milton and the Regicide'.
2014, William Walker, Antiformalist, Unrevolutionary, Illiberal Milton, page 12I was curious about the fate of Ras Mikael who came to the palace of lyoas as a guest and committed the hosticide.
2015, Alexander Raju, And Still Plays the Abyssinian Damsel on her Dulcimer, page 240
Origin
- Latinhostis“enemy”
- Englishhosticide
From Latin hostis (“enemy”) + English -cide or Latin caedere (“to kill”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
hosticide. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hosticide
“hosticide.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hosticide. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hosticide,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hosticide.
Source: hosticide on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.