murder

Meaning

Noun

1. The crime of killing a person unlawfully, especially with predetermination.
2. The crime of killing a person unlawfully, especially with predetermination.
3. The act of killing a person (or sometimes another being) unlawfully, especially with predetermination
4. Something terrible to endure.
5. A group of crows; the collective noun for crows.
6. (slang) Something remarkable or impressive.

Verb

1. To illegally kill (a person or persons) with intent, especially with predetermination
2. (colloquial) To defeat decisively.
3. (colloquial) To kick someone's ass or chew someone out (used to express one’s anger at somebody).
4. To botch or mangle.
5. (colloquial) To devour, ravish.

Hyphenated as

mur‧der

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈmɜːdə(ɹ)/

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).
(crows): Attested at least since 1475.

Sentences

Their motives for murder vary .