Homicider

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who unlawfully ends the life of another human, usually with intent or malice aforethought
2. An individual who is involved in the act of murder, specifically through the deliberate extermination of another's existence
3. Someone who causes the death of another person by unlawful means

Etymology: "Homicider" is a plain formation: the noun "homicide" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, giving a literal sense of "one who commits homicide." "Homicide" itself comes from Latin "homicidium," built from "homo" (man) and "caedere" (to cut down or kill), so the word combines a person and a verb of killing. The suffix "-er" is one of English's most productive ways of turning an action into a doer, as in "baker" or "driver." Attaching it to a noun that already names the act is less usual, which is why "homicider" sounds unfamiliar. Most English speakers reach instead for "murderer" or "killer," and "homicider" survives mainly as a rare, slightly clumsy alternative rather than a standard term.

Synonyms: murderer, killer, slayer

Antonyms: victim