Deicides

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The act of killing a deity, traditionally referring to the murder of Christ by those seen as responsible
2. The term used within religious contexts to describe individuals or groups who have committed divine murder
3. A label applied to those believed to have engaged in the act of slaying a god or spiritual figure

Etymology: "Deicides" is the plural of "deicide", a noun meaning the killing of a god, or one who commits such a killing. The singular was formed in Medieval Latin, where it appears in two forms, "deicīdium" and "deicīda", and English took it from there. The word is built from "deus", Latin for "god", and "-cida", from "caedere", meaning "to kill", the same root that gives English "homicide" and "suicide". The plural form is the one most readers meet, and it is the form that matters for the word's usage. Because the term is tied to religious contexts, it is most often applied to people who are accused of killing a divine figure, a usage that depends entirely on the belief system in question. The word therefore describes a category of accusation as much as an act.