- [uncountable, countable]
the crime of killing your brother or sister; a person who is guilty of this crime compare matricide, parricide, patricideTopics Crime and punishmentc2杀害兄弟(或姐妹)罪;杀害兄弟(或姐妹)者 - [uncountable, countable]
the crime of killing people of your own country or group; a person who is guilty of this crime Topics Crime and punishmentc2杀害同胞罪;杀害同胞者 - [uncountable] (especially North American English)
the act of killing by accident your own forces in war synonym friendly fire(战争中)误致己方伤亡
Word Originlate 15th cent. (denoting a person who kills their brother or sister, derived from Latin fratricida): the primary current sense comes via French from late Latin fratricidium, from frater ‘brother’ + -cidium, from caedere ‘kill’.