fratricide
/ˈfratrɪsʌɪd
/noun [mass noun]
1The killing of one’s brother or sister: Cain justifies his fratricide with lethal logic...
- I can even, to a lesser degree, comprehend stalkers, serial killers, matricide, fratricide, genocide.
- It's about fratricide, patricide, matricide - the ultimate dysfunctional family.
- With songs about lost love, broken hearts, fratricide, betrayal, drug addiction and the fear of death, the new record delves deeply into realms of experience that many lesser artists shy away from.
1.1 [count noun] A person who kills their brother or sister.
1.2The accidental killing of one’s own forces in war: the Vietnam War saw fratricide increase because of the close-in jungle fighting...
- Crews conducted numerous tasks during this period, including environmental ‘brownout’ training, blue force tracking training, fratricide prevention and gunnery.
- Moreover, because of its accurate target detection and precision strike capability, the risk of fratricide and collateral damage will be greatly reduced.
- The worst case of fratricide in the Vietnam war occurred during an artillery exchange when the wrong powder charge caused long rounds to hit another U.S. artillery position.
Origin
Late 15th century (denoting a person who kills their brother or sister, derived from Latin fratricida): the primary current sense comes via French from late Latin fratricidium, from frater 'brother' + -cidium (see -cide).