Where does “fratricide” come from?
fratricide (Middle French) comes from Latin fratricidium, from Latin -cīdium, from Latin -ium, from Latin -ius, from Proto-Italic -jōs, from Proto-Indo-European -yós — Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems.
Ancestry of “fratricide”, step by step
fratricide traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin fratricidium
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | fratricidium | the murder of a brother, fratricide |
| 2 | Latin | -cīdium | — |
| 3 | Latin | -ium | Suffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes... |
| 4 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |
via Latin frātricīda
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | frātricīda | a brother's murderer, fratricide |