feticide

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See also: féticide

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From fetus +‎ -cide or fetus +‎ -icide, from Middle French -cide, from Latin -cīda (cutter, killer) and its derivation -cīdium (killing), from -cīd (combining form of caedō (cut, kill)) + -a (-er, forming agent nouns).

Pronunciation

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Noun

feticide (countable and uncountable, plural feticides)

  1. (dysphemistic) The killing of a fetus or embryo; an induced abortion.
    • 2002, Daniel Schiff, Abortion in Judaism, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 68:
      Zimra, then, takes an unequivocal stance; favoring Rashi's view over that of Maimonides, he offers little comfort for the rodef approach, holding instead that feticide cannot be regarded as murder becaue the fetus is not a nefesh.
    • 1878, H. Gibbons, "On Feticide" in Transactions of the Session of the Medical Society of the State of California vol. 8; J. Anthony & Co., Printers; page 209:
      Notwithstanding the earnest opposition of writers and lecturers and preachers and legislators, the practice of feticide appears to be on the increase.
  2. One who kills a fetus.

Derived terms

Translations