List of types of killing

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

Killing of self

• Suicide, intentional killing of your self
  • Autocide, suicide by automobile
  • Medicide, a suicide accomplished with the aid of a physician
  • Murder-suicide, a suicide committed immediately after one or more murders
  • Self-immolation, suicide as a form of protest, often by fire
  • Suicide by cop, acting in a threatening manner so as to provoke a lethal response from law enforcement

Killing of other people

All of these are considered types of homicide.

Killing of family

• Avunculicide – the act of killing an uncle (Latin: avunculus "(maternal) uncle").
• Familicide – is a multiple-victim homicide where a killer's spouse and children are slain (Latin: familia "family").
• Filicide – the act of a parent killing their child (Latin: filius "son").
• Fratricide – the act of killing a brother (Latin: frater "brother"); also, in military context, death by friendly fire.
• Geronticide – the abandonment of the elderly to die, die by suicide or be killed.
• Honour killing – the act of murdering a family member perceived to have brought disgrace to the family.
• Infanticide – the act of killing a child within the first year of its life.
• Mariticide – the act of killing one's husband.
• Matricide – the act of killing one's mother (Latin: mater "mother").
• Neonaticide – the act of killing an infant within the first twenty-four hours or month (varies by individual and jurisdiction) of its life.
• Nepoticide – the act of killing one's nephew.
• Parricide or parenticide – the killing of one's mother, father, or other close relative.
• Patricide – the act of killing of one's father (Latin: pater "father").
• Pedicide – the act of killing a child.
• Prolicide – the act of killing one's own children.
• Senicide – the killing of one's elderly family members when they can no longer work or become a burden (Latin: senex "old man").
• Siblicide – the killing of an infant individual by its close relatives (full or half siblings).
• Sororicide – the act of killing one's sister (Latin: soror "sister").
• Uxoricide – the act of killing one's wife (Latin: uxor "wife").

Killing of others

• Amicicide – the act of killing a friend (Latin: amicus "friend")
• Androcide – the systematic killing of men.
• Assassination – the act of killing a prominent person for either political, religious, or monetary reasons.
• Capital punishment – the judicial killing of a human being for crimes.
• Casualty (person) – death (or injury) in wartime.
• Collateral damage – deaths during wartime due to imprecise or incorrect targeting or friendly fire.
• Democide or populicide – the murder of any person or people by a government.
• Ecocide – the destruction of the natural environment by such activity as war, overexploitation of resources, or pollution.
• Extrajudicial killing – killing by government forces without due process. See also Targeted killing.
• Euthanasia or mercy killing – the killing of any being 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.
• Feticide – the act of killing a fetus.
• Gendercide – the systematic killing of members of a specific sex or gender.
• Genocide – the systematic extermination of an entire national, racial, religious, or ethnic group.
• Homicide – the act of 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.
• Massacre or mass murder – the killing of many people.
• Murder – the malicious and unlawful killing of a human by another human.
• Manslaughter – murder, but under legally mitigating circumstances.
• Omnicide – the act of killing all humans, to create intentional extinction of the human species (Latin: omni "all, everyone").
• Targeted killing – a form of assassination which is carried out by governments against their perceived enemies. See also Extrajudicial killing.
• Xenocide – the genocide of an entire alien species. Often used in science fiction, one famous example being the novel "Xenocide" by Orson Scott Card.

Killing of superiors

• Deicide – killing a god or divine being.
• Episcopicide – killing a bishop.
• Regicide – killing a ruler, a King/Queen(Latin: rex, gen. regis "king").
• Tyrannicide – killing a tyrant.

Killing of animals, disease, and pests

• 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 – chemical agents or biological organisms used to kill or inhibit fungi or fungal spores.
• Germicide – an agent that kills germs, especially pathogenic microorganisms; a disinfectant
• Herbicide – an agent that kills unwanted plants, a weed killer.
• 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 to kill mites.
• Nemacide (also nematicide, nematocide) – a chemical to eradicate or kill nematodes.
• Parasiticide – a general term to describe an agent used to destroy parasites.
• Pediculicide – an agent that kills head lice.
• Pesticide – a general term to describe an agent used to destroy or repel a pest.
• Scabicide – a chemical agent for killing scabies.
• Spermicide – a contraceptive agent to render sperm inert and prevent fertilization.
• Teniacide (also taeniacide, tenicide)– a chemical agent that kills tape worms.
• Theriocide - the act of killing sentient animals, especially mammals (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 of intangibles

• Famacide, defamation or slander, the killing of another's reputation
• Linguicide, intentionally causing the death of a language
• Urbicide, the destruction of a city or the stifling of urbanisation (urbs is Latin for "city")
• Coeptiscide, causing the death of a business undertaking or corporation

See also

• Letting die
• Manner of death, a classification made after autopsy
• Unnatural death