Meanings
plural matricides
- countableuncountableThe killing of one's mother.
Gerald was imprisoned for matricide: he strangled his mother.
1 more example
Here the interest was the more compelling because the case of Orestes was unique—not only because matricide was an almost unknown crime, but also because the gods themselves participate in an action in which the slain mother had herself slain the father of her son.
1924, Herbert Weir Smyth, “VIII. Orestea. III: Eumenides”, in Aeschylean Tragedy, page 223 - countableuncountableA person who kills his or her mother.
Nancy was a matricide; it happened four years ago.
Origin
- Latinmātricīda“person who kills his own mother”
- Frenchmatricide
- Englishmatricide
From French matricide, from Latin mātricīda (“person who kills his own mother”) and mātricīdium (“the murder of one's mother”). By surface analysis, matri- + -cide.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan matricidi, matricida
- matricidikilling of one's mother
- matricidaperson who kills their mother
Chinese Mandarin 弒母 /弑母, 弒母者 /弑母者
- 弒母 /弑母 (shìmǔ)killing of one's mother
- 弒母者 /弑母者 (shìmǔzhě)person who kills their mother
Czech matkovražda, matkovrah
- matkovraždakilling of one's mother
- matkovrahperson who kills their mother
Finnish äidinmurha, äidinmurhaaja
- äidinmurhakilling of one's mother
- äidinmurhaajaperson who kills their mother
French matricide, matricide
- matricidekilling of one's mother
- matricideperson who kills their mother
German Muttermord, Matrizid
- Muttermordkilling of one's mother
- Matrizidkilling of one's mother
- Muttermörderperson who kills their mother
- Muttermörderinperson who kills their mother
Greek μητροκτονία, μητροκτόνος
- μητροκτονία (mitroktonía)killing of one's mother
- μητροκτόνος (mitroktónos)person who kills their mother
Hindi मातृहत्या, मातृघात
- मातृहत्या (mātŕhatyā)killing of one's mother
- मातृघात (mātŕghāt)killing of one's mother
Indonesian matrisida
- matrisidakilling of one's mother
Irish marfóir máthar
- marfóir mátharperson who kills their mother
Italian matricidio, matricida
- matricidiokilling of one's mother
- matricidaperson who kills their mother
Latin mātricīdium, mātricīda
- mātricīdiumkilling of one's mother
- mātricīdaperson who kills their mother
Polish matkobójstwo, matkobójca
- matkobójstwokilling of one's mother
- matkobójcaperson who kills their mother
- matkobójczyniperson who kills their mother
Portuguese matricídio, matricida
- matricídiokilling of one's mother
- matricidaperson who kills their mother
Romanian matricid
- matricidkilling of one's mother
Russian матереуби́йство, матереуби́йца
- матереуби́йство (matereubíjstvo)killing of one's mother
- матереуби́йца (matereubíjca)person who kills their mother
Slovak matkovražda, matkovrah
- matkovraždakilling of one's mother
- matkovrahperson who kills their mother
Spanish matricidio, matricida
- matricidiokilling of one's mother
- matricidaperson who kills their mother
Swedish modermord, modermördare
- modermordkilling of one's mother
- modermördareperson who kills their mother
Tagalog matrisidyo, matrisida
- matrisidyokilling of one's mother
- matrisidaperson who kills their mother
Ukrainian матеревби́вство
- матеревби́вство (materevbývstvo)killing of one's mother
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
matricide. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/matricide
“matricide.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/matricide. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “matricide,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/matricide.
Source: matricide on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.