“murdering” is a form of
murder
UK /ˈmɜːdə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈmɝ.dɚ/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms murders murdering murdered murther
- noun (countable) An act of killing a person unlawfully, especially with predetermination. “Throwing that punch was a murder whether you meant for it to happen or not.”
- noun (law, uncountable) The crime of killing a person unlawfully, especially with predetermination. “The defendant was charged with murder.”
- noun (uncountable) The act of killing any being in an immoral manner; (countable) an instance of this. “Meat is murder.”
- noun (nonstandard, by extension) Synonym of murderer , a person who has unlawfully killed another.
- noun (uncountable, used as a predicative noun) Something difficult or terrible to endure. “I heard this class is murder.”
- noun (dated slang) Something remarkable or impressive.
- noun (countable, collective) A flock of crows or sometimes ravens. “A murder of crows dotted my backyard.”
- verb To illegally kill (a person or persons) with intent, especially with predetermination “The woman found dead in her kitchen was murdered by her husband.”
- verb (colloquial, hyperbolic) To kill violently. “My uncle’s dog murdered my cat.”
- verb (transitive, sports, figuratively, colloquial, hyperbolic) To defeat decisively. “Our team is going to murder them.”
- verb (figuratively, colloquial, hyperbolic) To kick someone's ass or chew someone out (used to express one’s anger at somebody). “He's torn my best shirt. When I see him, I'll murder him!”
- verb To botch or mangle.
- verb (figuratively, colloquial, UK) To devour, ravish. “I could murder a hamburger right now.”
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
murderer conspiracy unkindness flock homicide manslaughter assassination thrash trounce wipe the floor with kill assassinate massacre slaughter remove slaying execution slay hit dispatch bump off off polish off mangle mutilate
Etymology
From Middle English murder, murdre, mourdre, alteration of earlier murthre (“murder”) (see murther), from Old English morþor (“secret slaying, unlawful killing”) and Old English myrþra (“murder, homicide”), both from Proto-West Germanic *morþr, from Proto-Germanic *murþrą (“death, killing, murder”), from Proto-Indo-European *mr̥tro- (“killing”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer-, *mor-, *mr̥- (“to die”). Akin to Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌸𐍂 (maurþr, “murder”), Old High German mord (“murder”), Old Norse morð (“murder”), Old English myrþrian (“to murder”) and morþ.
The -d- in the Middle English form may have been influenced in part by Anglo-Norman murdre, from Old French murdre, from Medieval Latin murdrum (whence the English doublet of murdrum), from Frankish *morþr, *murþr (“murder”), from the same Germanic root, though this may also have been wholly the result of internal development (compare burden, from burthen and spider, from spiþra).
(crows): Attested at least since 1475.
English surname from the verb murder, originally given to someone who had a reputation of being a murderer or was accused of committing murder.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The offense of killing a human being with malice prepense or aforethought, express or implied; intentional and unlawful homicide.
- verb To kill with premediated malice; to kill (a human being) willfully, deliberately, and unlawfully. See Murder, n.
- verb To destroy; to put an end to. [Canst thou] murder thy breath in middle of a word Shak.
Etymology [OE. morder, morther, AS. moredhor, fr. moredh murder; akin to D. moord, OS. moredh, G., Dan., & Sw. mord, Icel. moredh, Goth. maúrþr, OSlav. mreti to die, Lith. mirti, W. marw dead, L. mors, mortis, death, mori, moriri, to die, Gr. broto`s (for mroto`s) mortal, 'a`mbrotos immortal, Skr. mrs to die, mrsta death. *105. Cf. Amaranth, Ambrosia, Mortal.]
Etymology [OE. mortheren, murtheren, AS. myr; akin to OHG. murdiren, Goth. maúr. See Murder, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “murder”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details