Murder

n. [A-S. mordhur, mordhor, mordher, murder, from mordh, id., O. Sax. morth, mordh, O. Fries. morth, Icel. mordh, Dan., Sw., O. & N. H. Ger. mord, D. moord, Goth. maurthr, allied to Lat. mors, mortis, death, mori, to die, Skr. mri, Lith. mirti: Fr. meurtre, from Goth. maurthr.] The act of killing a human being with malice prepense or aforethought, express or implied; homicide with malice aforethought. Slaughter grows murder when it goes too far. Dryden. The term murder, in the sense of crime, was anciently applied only to the secret killing of one human being by another, which the word moerda signifies in the Teutonic language. Tomlins.

[imp. & p. p. MURDERED; p. pr. & sb. n. MURDERING.] [A-S. myrðrian, Goth. maurthrjan, O. H. Ger. murdran, murdan, N. H. Ger. morden, D. moorden, Sw. mörda, Dan. myrde, Icel. myrða. See supra.]

1Sense 1. To kill with premeditated malice. See the n.

2Sense 2. To destroy; to put an end to.

Canst thou murder thy breath in the middle of a word? Shak.

Synonyms— To kill; assassinate; slay. See KILL.