murder
UK[ˈmɜːdə(r)]US[ˈmɜːrdər]
n
the crime of killing a person intentionally and unlawfully
v
to kill a person intentionally and unlawfully
Etymology
the word "murder" has a deep history in the germanic languages, tracing back to the old english terms for a secret or unlawful killing. its proto-indo-european root mer-, meaning "to die," is the source of its core semantic concept. over centuries, the word's form evolved through middle english, shedding its older inflectional endings and solidifying its modern spelling. the meaning also narrowed from a more general sense of death or killing to specifically denote the criminal act of intentional, unlawful homicide, reflecting a key legal and moral distinction in society.
Analysis
the word is a simplex form. it is derived from the middle english 'mordre' or 'murthre', which came from old english 'morthor' or 'morth', meaning secret killing or murder. its ultimate origin is proto-germanic murþrą and proto-indo-european mr̥-tro-, from the root mer- meaning "to die."
Examples
he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
the detective was determined to solve the brutal murder.
it is a crime to murder, regardless of the motive.