patricide

/ˌpætrəˈsaɪd/

Other forms: patricides

When a father is killed by his child, it's called patricide. Patricide is a crime that shows up in a lot of classic literature, which makes you wonder about the authors' relationships with their own dads.

One of the most famous literary examples of patricide is the Greek myth of Oedipus, who was taken far from his family as a baby after a prophecy said he was fated to commit patricide. Despite this precautionary measure, Oedipus did, in fact, eventually (unknowingly) kill his own father. The word patricide combines the Latin pater, or "father," and the suffix -cide, "killer" or "killing."

Definitions of patricide

1. noun

   the murder of your father
   type of:

   parricide

   the murder of your own father or mother
2. noun

   a person who murders their father
   type of:

   parricide

   someone who kills his or her parent