List of types of killing

In the English language, terms for types of killing often end in the suffix -cide.

Suicide

• Altruistic suicide, suicide for the benefit of others
• Medicide, a suicide accomplished with the aid of a physician
• Murder-suicide, a suicide committed immediately after one or more murders
• Self-immolation, suicide by fire, often as a form of protest
• Suicide by cop, acting in a threatening manner so as to provoke a lethal response from law enforcement
• Vehicular suicide, suicide by a motor vehicle

Killing of other people

All of these are considered types of homicide.

Killing of family members

• Amiticide, the killing of an aunt (Latin: amita "(paternal) aunt")
• Avunculicide, the killing of an uncle (Latin: avunculus "(maternal) uncle")
• Familicide, the killing of a spouse and children (Latin: familia "family")
• Filicide or prolicide, the killing of one's own child (Latin: filius "son" and Latin: filia "daughter").
• Fratricide, the killing a brother (Latin: frater "brother")
• Honour killing, the killing of a family member perceived to have brought disgrace to the family
• Mariticide, the killing of one's husband (Latin: maritus "husband")
• Matricide, the killing of one's mother (Latin: mater "mother")
• Nepiticide, the killing of one's niece
• Nepoticide, the killing of one's nephew
• Parricide or parenticide, the killing of one's mother, father, or other close relative
• Patricide, the killing of one's father (Latin: pater "father")
• Senicide, the killing of one's elderly family members (Latin: senex "old man")
• Siblicide, the killing of a sibling
• Sororicide, the killing of one's sister (Latin: soror "sister")
• Uxoricide, the killing of one's wife (Latin: uxor "wife")

Killing of children

• Infanticide, the killing a child within the first year of their life
• Neonaticide, the killing an infant within the first 24 hours or month (varies by individual and jurisdiction) of their life
• Pedocide, the killing of children

Killing by governments

• Capital punishment, the judicial killing of a criminal
• Democide or populicide, the killing of people by a government
• Extrajudicial killing, killing by a government without due process
• Targeted killing, a form of assassination by a government against their perceived enemy

Killing of prominent people

• Assassination, the killing a prominent person for political, religious, or monetary reasons
• Eliticide, the killing of the elites of a population
• Papicide, the killing of a pope (Ancient Greek: πάππας (páppas) "father").^[1]
• Regicide, the killing of a monarch or sovereign, a king/queen (Latin: rex, gen. regis "king")
• Tyrannicide, the killing of a tyrant
• Magnicide, the killing of a major political figure

Killing in wartime

• Casualty, death (or injury) in wartime
• Collateral damage or friendly fire, the unintentional killing of persons during a military attack who were not the target
• Decimation, in ancient Rome, a form of military discipline in which every tenth man in a group was executed by members of his cohort
• Fragging, the killing of a fellow soldier
• Fratricide, the killing of a fellow soldier

Killing of others

• Amicicide, the killing of a friend (Latin: amicus "friend")
• Androcide, the systematic killing of men
• Contract killing, a form of murder or assassination in which a party is hired to kill a person or people
• Euthanasia or mercy killing, killing for compassionate reasons; e.g., significant injury or disease
• Familiaricide in commutatione eius possessio, the act of killing a family for their property and/or possessions (from Latin: familiaris "of a household"; in commutatione eius "in exchange for"; and possessio "a possession or property")
• Femicide, gynecide, gynaecide, or gynocide, the systematic killing of women
• Gendercide, the systematic killing of members of a specific sex or gender
• Geronticide, the killing of the elderly
• Genocide, the systematic extermination of an entire national, racial, religious, or ethnic group
• Homicide, the killing of a person (Latin: homo "man")
  • Justifiable homicide, a defense to culpable homicide (criminal or negligent homicide)
• Human sacrifice, the killing of a human for sacrificial, often religious, reasons
• Lynching, the public killing of an individual without due process
• Massacre, mass murder or spree killing, the killing of many people
• Murder, the unlawful killing of a human by another human
• Manslaughter, murder, but under legally mitigating circumstances
• Omnicide, the act of killing all humans, to bring about the extinction of the human species (Latin: omni "all, everyone").
• Serial killer, a person who murders three or more people, with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separate events
• Spree killer, someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders in a short time, often in multiple locations

Killing of animals and other organisms

• Algaecide, a chemical agent that kills algae
• Acaricide, a chemical agent that kills mites
• Avicide, a chemical agent that kills birds
• Bactericide, a chemical agent that kills bacteria
• Biocide, a chemical agent that kills a broad spectrum of living organisms
• Fungicide, a chemical agent or biological organism used to kill or inhibit fungi or fungal spores
• Germicide, an agent that kills germs, especially pathogenic microorganisms
• Herbicide, an agent that kills unwanted plants
• Insecticide, an agent that kills unwanted insects
• Larvicide (also larvacide), an insecticide targeted against the larval life stage of an insect
• Microbicide, an agent used to kill or reduce the infectiousness of microorganisms
• Miticide, a chemical used to kill mites
• Nemacide (also nematicide, nematocide), a chemical to eradicate or kill nematodes
• Parasiticide, an agent used to destroy parasites
• Pediculicide, an agent that kills head lice
• Pesticide, an agent used to destroy or repel a pest
• Rodenticide, an agent that kills rodents (especially rats and mice)
• Scabicide, a chemical agent for killing scabies
• Teniacide (also taeniacide, tenicide), a chemical agent that kills tape worms
• Theriocide, the killing an animal by a human (Ancient Greek: therion "wild animal, beast")
• Vermicide, an agent used to kill parasitic intestinal worms
• Virucide (also viricide), an agent capable of destroying or inhibiting viruses
• Vulpicide (also vulpecide), the killing of a fox by methods other than by hunting it with hounds

Killing in fiction and mythology

• Deicide, the killing of a god or divine being
• Xenocide, the genocide of an alien species. Often used in science fiction, such as in the novel Xenocide by Orson Scott Card

See also

• Feticide, the destruction of an embryo or fetus
• Spermicide, a contraceptive agent to render sperm inert and prevent fertilization of an egg
• Letting die
• Manner of death, a classification made after autopsy