murdered
UK[ˈmɜːdəd]US[ˈmɜːrdərd]
verb (past tense, past participle)
killed someone intentionally and unlawfully
verb (past tense, past participle)
spoiled something completely by performing or handling it very badly
Morpheme Breakdown
murder
ed
murder
to kill
ed
past tense suffix
Etymology
the word 'murder' has a deep history in the germanic languages, originating from the proto-germanic term murþrą, which conveyed the concept of a killing. this, in turn, is traced back to the proto-indo-european root mer-, meaning 'to die'. the old english form 'morðor' specifically implied a secret or unlawful killing, distinguishing it from open slaughter. the addition of the '-ed' suffix, a standard grammatical marker in english for forming the past tense, transforms the base verb into its past participle form 'murdered', describing the state or action of having been killed unlawfully.
Analysis
Structure: murder (to kill) + ed (past tense suffix)
'murder' is from old english 'morðor', meaning secret killing, mortal sin, from proto-germanic murþrą. the '-ed' suffix is from old english '-ede', '-ode', '-adon', used to form the past tense and past participle of weak verbs.
Examples
the police confirmed the businessman was murdered in his own home.
the actor completely murdered the classic song with his poor performance.
evidence suggested the victim had been murdered for his money.