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Cide Words Have you ever noticed the connection between words like suicide, homicide, genocide, pesticide and fungicide? They all end in –cide, of course, but their meanings are linked too. They all concern death, destruction, extermination and deliberate killing. The –cide ending originates from the Latin word caedere meaning to kill. Remember that next time you consider ordering a glass of cider! The five examples above are not the only –cide words, however. (Although they are perhaps the most common.) On this page you'll find about 160 such words (almost 200 if you count variant spellings) culled from a variety of dictionaries. The words below are divided into the following eight categories: Killing One's Relatives, Murdering Other People, Killing Animals, Killing Insects, Medicine (Killing Diseases), Killing Plants, Miscellaneous Killing, and Extreme Killing. Killing One's Relations Here are 13 words for killing members of one's family. Generally the word can be used both for the act of killing, and the killer: an uxoricide is one who commits uxoricide. Killing oneself suicide, selfcide Killing one's father patricide Killing one's mother matricide Killing one's parent(s) parenticide Killing one's brother fratricide Killing one's sister sororicide Killing one's husband mariticide, viricide Killing one's wife uxoricide Killing one's son or daughter filicide, prolicide Killing a close relative parricide

Killing Other People – Murder Killing a man, or any person homicide Killing a woman femicide, gynecide, gynaecide Killing an infant infanticide Killing a fetus aborticide, feticide, foeticide Killing old men senicide Killing a king regicide Killing a lord or master hericide Killing a philosopher philosophicide Killing a prophet or poet vaticide Killing a czar czaricide Killing a bishop episcopicide Killing an apprentice prenticecide Killing a Brahmin Brahminicide, Brahmanicide Killing a Spartacus member Sparticide Killing a modernist modernicide Killing a guest or host hospiticide Killing a favorite nepoticide Killing a friend ambicide Killing an enemy hosticide Killing a heretic hereticide, heretocide Killing a tyrant tyrannicide Killing of Christ Christicide

Killing Animals – Slaughter There are terms for the killing of many types of animal. Here, in alphabetical order of animal, are 33 such –cide words: Killing of bears ursicide Killing of birds avicide, birdicide Killing of boars apricide Killing of bulls tauricide Killing of cats felicide Killing of chickens or turkeys gallinicide Killing of cows vaccicide Killing of deer cervicide Killing of dogs canicide Killing of elephants elephanticide Killing of fish piscicide Killing of fowls gallicide Killing of fox vulpicide Killing of goats hiricide Killing of kangaroos macropocide Killing of leeches hirudicide Killing of mice muricide Killing of moles talpicide Killing of oxen bovicide Killing of partridges perdricide Killing of poultry poultrycide Killing of rats raticide Killing of reptiles herpecide, herpicide Killing of rodents rodenticide Killing of seals sealicide Killing of serpents serpenticide Killing of snails/molluscs molluscacide Killing of sparrows sparrowcide Killing of vermin verminicide Killing of whales ceticide Killing of wolves lupidide

Killing Insects Killing of insects insecticide Killing of adult insects adulticide, imagocide, imagicide Killing of insect larvae larvicide Killing of insect eggs ovicide Killing of pests pesticide Killing of ants formicide, formicicide Killing of aphids aphidicide, aphicide Killing of bedbugs cimicide Killing of bees apicide Killing of fleas pulicide, pulicicide Killing of flies muscacide, muscicide Killing of gnats or mosquitos culicicide, culicide Killing of lice lousicide, pediculicide Killing of mites acaricide, miticide Killing of mosquitos anophelicide, mosquitocide Killing of spiders or scorpions arachnidcide Killing of ticks tickicide Killing of wasps vespacide

Medicines And Drugs That Exterminate In the same way that fungicide is used to kill fungal spores, there are thousands of medicines and drugs used to kill all manner of bacteria and diseases. The words for such substances often end in –cide, for example: Amebae amebacide, amebicide, amoebicide Animal parasites epizocide Anthrax anthracocide Bacilli bacillicide Bacteria bactericide, bacteriacide, bacteriocide Blood corpuscles globulicide Blood flukes schistosomacide, schistosomicide Cancerous cells tumorcide Cells cytocide Diarrhea-causing parasites trichomonacide Fever (reducing fever) febricide Germs germicide Gonorrhea gonococcide, gonoccocide Intestinal worms helminthicide, vermicide Leukocytes leukocide, leucocide Malarial parasites gametocide, plasmodicide, schizonticide Microbes microbicide Nematode worms nematocide, nematicide, nemacide Oxyuris worms oxyuricide Parasites parasiticide Parasitic bacteria treponemicide Protozoans protozoacide Roundworms ascaricide, filaricide, lumbricide Scabies scabicide, scabieticide Sleeping sickness infection trypanocide, trypanosomacide Sperm spermicide, spermatocide, spermatozoicide Spirilla bacteria spirillicide Spirochetes bacteria spirocheticide, spirochaeticide Spores fungicide, sporicide Staph staphylocide, staphylococcide, staphylococcicide Streptococci bacteria streptococcicide Tapeworms taenicide, taeniacide, teniacide, tenicide Toxins toxicide, toxinicide Tuberculosis bacilli tuberculocide Viruses viruscide, virucide

Killing Plantlife Killing of algae algaecide, algicide Killing of flowers floricide Killing of plants herbicide, phytocide Killing of weeds weedicide

Other Death, Annihilation, and Obliteration Killing a god deicide Killing of a giant gianticide Killing of a monster monstricide Killing putrid things putricide Destruction of books tomecide Destroying words logocide, verbicide Destruction of a culture ethnocide Destruction of ancient buildings/monuments petracide Destruction of laws legicide Destruction of liberty liberticide Destruction of life biocide Ruining a suitor's chances suitorcide Ruining someone's reputation famicide Killing the mind (brainwashing) menticide Killing a faith fideicide Killing facts (distorting the truth) facticide Killing someone with a motor vehicle autocide

Extreme Death, Killing, Destruction, and Extermination And finally, we've saved the best (or worst) for last. These five words refer to killing on a massive scale: Destruction of everything onmicide Destruction of the entire world mundicide Destruction of the natural world ecocide Killing of all people populicide Extermination of an entire racial, political, or cultural group genocide

More Fun With Words If you enjoyed our 200 –cide words, you'll love our 600 phobia words. Find out the name for your phobia. Do you know anyone else who would enjoy this? Email this page to a friend.

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