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murdern.1int. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Gothic maurþr < a suffixed form (showing a suffix forming nouns of action) of an Indo-European base which (with varying extension and varying ablaut grades) gives rise also to morth n. and Sanskrit mṛ- to die, mṛtyu death, marta a mortal, ancient Greek βροτός (also Hellenistic Greek (rare) μορτός ) mortal, classical Latin morī to die (see morient adj.), mors (morti- ) death, mortuus dead (see mort n.1), Welsh marw dead, Early Irish marb dead (Irish marbh), Old Church Slavonic mrěti to die, mrĭtvŭ dead, Russian morit′ to exterminate, mërtvyj dead, Lithuanian mirti to die.The noun is not found in continental West Germanic languages, but compare cognates of the corresponding verb and agent noun listed s.vv. murder v. and murther n.1 Compare also nouns ultimately from the same Germanic base in French and Latin, although it is uncertain whether these show loans from unattested continental West Germanic forms of the noun, or are derived ultimately from the corresponding verb (see murder v.): Anglo-Norman murdre , moerdre , mordre , mourdre , Old French mordre , mortre , murdre , murtre (12th cent.), Middle French, French meurtre (1530), and post-classical Latin murdrum murder (8th or early 9th cent. as mordrum ; frequently from late 11th cent. in British sources; also in forms multrum (12th–13th centuries), murdra (12th cent. in British sources), murtrum (13th–14th centuries in British sources)), fine imposed on a manor or hundred in which a murder had been committed (frequently from late 11th cent. in British sources; compare murdrum n.). Both the -u- and the -d- of the modern form of the word are probably partly attributable to the influence of Anglo-Norman, Old French, and post-classical Latin forms (compare the early appearance of β. forms in sense A. 4), although on the change of original ð to d see also E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §383. A. n.1 1. The action or an act of killing. the world > life > death > killing > man-killing or homicide > murder or assassination > [noun] α. OE 2055 Þara banena byre..morðres gylped [read gylpeð]. OE 63 Manige men wenaþ þæt morþor sy seo mæste synne. c1175 ( Homily (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine (1993) 200 Ne bið þaer þurst, ne hungor, ne wop, ne teoðe ȝegrind, ne morþer. c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Otho) 26096 Telle of þine cunne..and wi þou mine mowe a-falled hauest mid morþre. 1373 (1844) I. 184/2 Si per murthir siue per forthouchfelony fuit homicidium perpetratum. a1400 (a1325) (Gött.) 1072 (MED) Wid murther [a1400 Vesp. murth; a1400 Trin. Cambr. murthere] he broght his broþer o lijf. a1400 (a1325) (Fairf. 14) 1121 (MED) Þar-wiþ come our creatour for-to speke wiþ þat traytour of þat myrþer [a1400 Vesp. murth; a1400 Trin. Cambr. morþ]. c1485 ( G. Hay (2005) 226 And his said maister did a crime of murthir or thift, or ref. c1500 (?a1437) (1939) clvii The wolf, that of the murthir noght say[is] ‘ho!’ 1535 Mark xv. 7 There was in preson with the sedicious, one called Barrabas, which in the vproure had committed murthur. 1594 W. Shakespeare iv. iv. 54 His traitorous sonnes, That dide by law for murther of our brother. View more context for this quotation 1649 E. Reynolds (new ed.) ii. 77 Jezebel binds her self by an oath unto murther. 1660 J. Gauden 35 Wilful murther and destinate villany. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis viii, in tr. Virgil 456 Nor proud Mezentius, thus unpunish'd, boast His Rapes and Murthers on the Tuscan Coast. 1726 Bp. J. Butler viii. 151 But let us suppose a Person guilty of Murther. 1776 T. Jefferson Let. 26 Aug. in (1950) I. 505 Death might be inflicted for murther and perhaps for treason. 1816 W. Scott II. ii. 46 De hand of glory..is hand cut off from a dead man, as has been hanged for murther, and dried..in de shmoke of juniper. 1836 E. Bulwer-Lytton (1837) II. 342 In despotic Persia all history dies away in the dark recesses and sanguinary murthers of a palace governed by eunuchs and defended but by slaves. 1889 ‘M. Twain’ xxxix. 506 I did not move. People..shouted to me: ‘Fly, fly! Save thyself! This is murther!’ 1960 J. Barth ii. vii. 176 A fellow in St. Mary's that Coode had given the post of Collector for the Patuxent after John Payne's murther. the world > life > death > killing > slaughter > [noun] c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 11717 (MED) Sir simond was aslawe & is folk al to grounde; More murþre [v.r. morþre] ȝare nas in so lute stounde. c1425 J. Lydgate (Augustus A.iv) iii. 1780 (MED) Priamus..swyche a mordre gan vpon hem make, Þat many Greke lay ded on þe pleyn. c1449 R. Pecock (1860) 516 Sowdiers wagid into Fraunce forto make miche morther of blood. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden (Harl. 2261) (1872) IV. 61 (MED) Þer was so grete murdre [a1387 J. Trevisa tr. slauȝter; L. strages] of the peple of Rome that he commaundede his peple to sease from the sleenge of theyme. a1525 in W. A. Craigie (1923) I. 211/6 In this samyn ȝere was a gret murthour of lordis In yngland. 1590 tr. P. Ubaldini 23 Forsomuch as they were in a very euill taking, as well in respect of the murther of their men, as the manifolde leakes of their ships, they were surprised, and without fight rifeled by the Zelanders. the world > life > death > killing > man-killing or homicide > [noun] 1488 (c1478) Hary (Adv.) (1968–9) vii. l. 369 Our kyn ar slayn..Throuch feill murthyr, the gret dispite is mor. a1530 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun (Royal) ii. 1014 Off that incest fell murthyr kene. 1551 W. Turner Prol. sig. A iijv By occasyon of thys boke euery man, nay euery old wyfe will presume not without the mordre of many, to practyse Phisick. 1589 in C. Innes (1855) 245 Causing thame authoreis the said creual mvrthour. 1662 E. Stillingfleet ii. ix. §11. 276 Condemn them for the Murther of Socrates. 1667 J. Dryden v. ii. 60 Slaughter grows murder when it goes too far, And makes a Massacre what was a War. 1704 III. xi. 199 This unparallel'd Murther and Parricide was committed upon the thirtieth of January. 1790 E. Burke 108 The actual murder of the king and queen, and their child, was wanting to the other auspicious circumstances of this ‘beautiful day’. The actual murder of the bishops..was also wanting. View more context for this quotation a1822 P. B. Shelley Cyclops in (1824) 361 I should have done ill to have burned down Troy And not revenged the murder of my comrades. 1849 T. B. Macaulay I. iv. 487 Murder by false testimony is therefore the most aggravated species of murder. 1858 W. Arnot 2nd Ser. xiii. 104 [War] is, rather than does, murder. 1910 I. 733/2 By consenting to the barbarous murder of Iñgez de Castro..he has fixed an indelible stain on his character. 1947 24 Jan. 1/4 Scharpwinkel, who is believed to have ordered the murder of many of the 50 R.A.F., Commonwealth and Allied airmen after their escape from Stalagluft III in March 1944. 1975 I. Crichton Smith 21 The dew falling, drop by drop, on the Amalekites beside him, like the murder of deer among the heather. 1569 B. Googe sig. Eij Here Murder all embrued with bloud doth stand, That giues vnto the eye a fearefull sight. 1594 W. Shakespeare v. ii. 45 Lo by thy side where Rape and Murder stands, Now giue some surance that thou art reuenge. View more context for this quotation 1597 W. Shakespeare i. ii. 21 His summer leaues all faded By Enuies hand, and Murders bloudy axe. View more context for this quotation 1633 J. Fisher iii. viii. sig. F4v Hostile noyse drowning Lawe's reuerent voyce: But Murder out-cries Both. 1758 J. Beattie Ode to Peace i. ii, in Sept. 482/1 Murder deep-rous'd..From her cavern springs, Her tangled serpents girds around her waste, Smiles ghastly-stern, and shakes her gore-distilling wings. a1783 A. E. Bleecker (1793) 238 Murder sent her hopeless cries More dreadful thro' the gloom. a1822 P. B. Shelley (1832) ii. 2 I met Murder on the way—he had a mask like Castlereagh. 1891 E. Arnold 21 Murder would soften; black Despair would smile. 1964 A. Baraka 67 Murder is speaking of us. society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > evildoing or wrongdoing > [noun] > an evil deed OE (1992) ii. 60 Seo werige sawl..æfter þan gedale aslidan scile in þa ecean hellewitu & þær þonne mid dioflum drohtigan in morþre & on mane, in susle & on sare. OE Cynewulf 428 Nu is þearf mycel..þæt we ðæs morðres meldan ne weorðen hwær þæt halige trio beheled wurde. OE Handbk. for Use of Confessor (Corpus Cambr. 201) in (1965) 83 17 Ic andette mines modes morðor, and mæne aðas, and unsibbe, and ofermodignesse. lOE xciii. 3 Usque quo peccatores domine usque quo peccatores gloriabuntur : hu længe fyrenwyrhtæn foldæn weældaþ oððe manwyrhtæn morðra gylpað. c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Otho) 28715 Modred his son..þat þane morþre [c1275 Calig. morð] [wroht]e. 1439 V. 17/2 The which Phelip is lawefully endited and outlawed, of diverse Murdris, Felonies, and Trespasses. the mind > emotion > suffering > mental anguish or torment > [noun] OE 342 God..wearp hine on þæt morðer innan, niðer on þæt niobedd. OE 146 Heo his mægwinum morðor fremedon, wroht berenedon, wære fræton. a1465 in (1827) I. p. lxi (MED) William Chamburn..wounded theym so that they never sith durst kepe the wacche withyn the seid toun of Modbury..to the grete murdre of the same towne and the Kynges liege people there. c1210 ( (Rylands) f. 78 Ciues..sint quieti de eschot & de loth et de danegildo et de murdre [v.r. murdro]. 1311 (P.R.O.: C 53/97) m. 4 (MED) Quam..defendemus contra omnes homines de murdre de Danegelde, de Themantale, de seruicio Regum. a1350 ( Royal Charter: Henry I in W. H. Hart & P. A. Lyons (1884) I. 241 Concessisse et confirmasse ecclesiæ Sancti Benedicti..socam et sacam, et tol et theam, et infangenetheof, et hamsokne, et grithbriche, et forestal, et blodwite et murdre et wrec maris, et omnes libertates. c1460 in A. Clark (1907) 13 (MED) I will..that they..be quyte of..all other exaccions and playntes, outetake murther and thefte ipreued. a1475 in A. Clark (1906) ii. 665 (MED) They sholde have and holde hit..vtterly quyte fro..yelde and danegelde, of Murthere and of theeft. 1823 J. Lingard (1854) I. 247 [Norman Conquest]. In legal language the penalty was denominated the ‘murder’. 5. figurative and hyperbolical. the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > [noun] the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > [noun] > unpleasantness > unpleasant experience 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage I. iii. iii. 350 This brutal importunity is downright murder to one's feelings. 1857 A. Trollope II. ii. 37 This cellar is perfectly abominable. It would be murder to put a bottle of wine into it till it has been roofed, walled, and floored. 1878 ‘R. Boldrewood’ ix. 90 What a murder that one should have all these hundredweights of nails,..and forests of posts and wallplates to get all over again! 1924 R. Kipling (1926) 316 I was never keen on bombin' myself... But bombin'-instruction's murder! 1956 A. J. Lerner (1958) i. i. 8 By right she should be taken out and hung For the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue! 1960 H. Pinter Room in 105 Rose. You look cold. Mrs Sands. It's murder out. Have you been out? 1989 J. Trollope v. 65 Being a courier is murder, sheer murder. 1927 30 Oct. It's Murder... There is a terrific amount of theatrical business. 1940 May 37/3 Murder, something excellent or terrific... ‘That's solid murder, gate!’ 1943 M. Shulman ix. 90 We got on the dance floor just as a Benny Goodman record started to play. ‘Oh, B.G.!’ cried Noblesse... ‘Man, he's murder, Jack.’ 1948 H. L. Mencken Suppl. II. 707 The vocabulary of the jazz addict is largely identical with that of the jazz performer…anything excellent is killer-diller, murder or Dracula. 1970 C. Major 83 Murder, (1930's–40's) excellent; the best. 1986 J. Ciardi 198 Indicates enthusiastic approval: The new Stones album is pure murder! society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > parlour and party games > [noun] > other party or parlour games 1930 8 Feb. 13/1 (caption) Good evening, Baron. We're playing murder. 1934 N. Marsh i. 14 Silly games are played... It's going to be Murders this time. 1934 N. Marsh i. 20 Are we really going to play the Murder Game? 1941 N. Mitchison Diary 22 Dec. in D. Sheridan (1986) 171 We played Sardines and Murder (where, very typically, Willie, not having the murder card, committed the murder). 1964 R. Jeffries xii. 147 Did you ever play the game ‘Murder’?.. Everybody but the murderer must tell the truth: the murderer may lie. 1992 A. Taylor (BNC) 105 She was only joining in for the sake of the others because Murder in the Dark is more fun with five than with four. B. int.the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > warning of imminent danger or evil > warning cry [interjection] > other spec. a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Cock & Fox l. 486 in (1981) 23 The wedow hard, and..Seand the cace scho sichit and gaif an schout, ‘How, murther, reylock!’ with ane hiddeous beir, ‘Allace, now lost is gentill Chantecleir!’ 1594 R. Wilson sig. F2 (stage direct.) A cry within help, murther, murther, Raph comes running out. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1622) v. i. 27 I am maind for euer, light ho, murder, murder. 1678 T. Rawlins v. iv. 43 Help, help, murther, a rape! I'm ravish'd, I'm ravish'd. 1749 H. Fielding IV. x. ii. 11 She..began to scream in the most violent Manner, crying out Murder! Robbery! and more frequently Rape! View more context for this quotation 1778 H. Brooke iv. viii. 179 Help, murder, rape!—help, help! 1837 S. Lover xlvi Pooh! pooh!—murdher! there's not a dhrop o' wather in the pot. 1879 T. H. Sayre iii. 98 Murder! Murder! Help! Fire! Snakes! Help! Betsey! 1912 J. Conrad Secret Sharer i, in 114 They rushed us aft together, gripped as we were, screaming ‘Murder!’ like a lot of lunatics, and broke into the cuddy. 1922 ‘R. Crompton’ iv. 88 Police! Help! Murder! Robbers! Phrasesc1390 G. Chaucer 4242 Mordre wol out that se we day by day. a1400 (a1325) (Gött.) 1084 (MED) For-þi men sais into þis tyde, Is no man þat murthir [a1400 Fairf. deþ; a1400 Trin. Cambr. murþere] may hide. a1450 (c1435) J. Lydgate Life SS. Edmund & Fremund (Harl.) 225 in C. Horstmann (1881) 2nd Ser. 400 (MED) Moordre wil out, thouh it abide a while. a1450 ( in J. Kail (1904) 53 (MED) Synne, morþere, derne tresoun, Not may be hyd fro goddis syȝt. ?1499 J. Skelton (de Worde) sig. Bvi Forthwyth there I had him slayne But that I drde mordre wolde come oute. a1593 C. Marlowe (1594) sig. M2 I feard as much, murther cannot be hid. 1600 W. Shakespeare ii. ii. 75 Mu[r]der [1623 murder] cannot bee hidde long. View more context for this quotation 1695 (title) Gallienus Redivivus; or, Murther Will Out, &c., being a true account of the De-Witting of Glencoe, Gaffney, &c. 1706 G. Farquhar iii. i. 32 Now the Murder's out. 1781 M. P. Andrews i. 21 Baron: Daughter, Daughter! Dag.: Daughter! there's the whole murder out at once. 1824 J. Hogg 135 Murder will out, though the Almighty should lend hearing to the ears of the willow, and speech to the seven tongues of the woodriff. a1845 R. H. Barham Hermann in (1847) 3rd Ser. 338 The murder thus out, Hermann's fêted and thankéd. 1853 C. Dickens xxviii. 275 Sir Leicester's cousins, in the remotest degree, are so many Murders, in the respect that they ‘will out.’ 1876 H. James xi. 398 All that had to be said. Murder will out, and my low spirits can't be hidden. 1942 22 321 His family..believed he was murdered, and the weight of evidence seems to be with this surmise. It would seem that the familiar aphorism ‘Murder will out’ is here illustrated. 1994 W. Maples & M. Browning vii. 95 In Hitchcock's movies, murder will out, always. No one escapes punishment. 1713 J. Smith tr. G. Chaucer in 355 The Lovers start from their polluted Sheets, And yelling Murder cry about the Streets. 1788 R. Burns (1968) I. 324 Heard'st thou you groan?—proceed no further! 'Twas laurell'd Martial calling Murther! 1991 M. Quarton x. 62 Your one, Deirdre, was on the quay waving at the boat and shouting murder. Compounds C1. a. General attributive. 1906 T. Hardy vi. vii. 298 Bonaparte And Alexander..Are closing to a mutual murder-bout. society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > [noun] > murder investigation 1835 A. B. Longstreet 95 'Believe me, Miss Smith', said he, as if he were opening a murder case. 1930 A. Christie xv. 118 I should never have suspected that Hawes would take such a keen interest in the details of a murder case. 1974 M. Birmingham iii. 52 This is a murder case... To answer a few questions will hardly hurt her. 1880 41 94 To bribe or intimidate the man into turning false witness against his master in support of one of McDonnel's murder charges. 1974 15 Feb. 1/3 (heading) Murder charge after London shooting. 1942 6 416 Mystery or murder films (e.g., Shadow of the Thin Man or The Black Cat). 1971 34 241 Because of..the murder film itself, some people might also have developed at least a temporary preference for further scenes of violence. 1939 E. S. Gardner (1940) v. 57 ‘What are they, Doug, finger~prints?’ ‘Yes, on the murder gun.’ 1908 at Murder sb. Murder-haunt. 1968 28 Apr. 8/2 (heading) Murder-hunt police appeal to motorists. 1997 R. Tremain (1998) iii. 284 People search every inch of ground in a murder hunt. a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Paddock & Mouse l. 2865 in (1981) 106 Bot gif thow sweir to me the murthour aith: But fraud or gyle to bring me ouer this flude, But hurt or harme. a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Paddock & Mouse l. 2884 in (1981) 107 Thow swore the murthour aith richt now. 1831 M. Edgeworth 16 Mar. (1971) 490 Rogers..told me..a capital murder-story. 1991 Sept. 31/1 His desperation to write something important is rescued by the twisted murder story that is unfolding before his very eyes. 1843 T. Carlyle iii. x. 256 Fighting with steel murder-tools is surely a much uglier operation than Working, take it how you will. 1916 10 772 Did Germany justify its traffic in murder tools when the United States appealed to her to observe a benevolent neutrality? 1854 Sept. 527 The female population of the county..came from all quarters to attend this, the first murder trial in their neighborhood. 1973 D. Westheimer iii. 42 Lee went to the Houston Post and looked through back issues, studying murders and murder trials. 1947 41 728 The indictment referred to the date the murder victim was attacked, but not to the date of death. 1971 11 Dec. 10/5 The weekly number of murder victims [in India] is 283. 1994 May 87/1 The plane took off again carrying the police constables, the murder suspect in handcuffs, the murder victim in a coffin [etc.]. 1883 W. S. Blunt 25 Crimes find accomplices, and Murder weapons. 1950 2nd Ser. 180 402/1 To make during the trial an examination of the murder weapon. 1994 3 July i. 6/1 Prosecutors still lack a murder weapon, eyewitness, or other ‘smoking gun’ evidence. b. Objective. 1789 R. Burns (1968) I. 465 Blasted be thy murder-aiming eye. 1892 J. D. Canning 35 The swart boy..The crow's discordant croak will hush With ‘murder-aiming’ eye. 1908 at Murder sb. Murder-darting. c. Instrumental. 1870 W. Morris 30 Of Sigurd, who the dragon slew Upon the murder-wasted heath. C2. society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > [noun] > murder investigation > equipment 1938 F. D. Sharpe vi. 65 In the Superintendent's office at Scotland Yard repose two plain cowhide bags... They are the Murder Bags which contain all the tools which a detective is likely to need in solving a major crime. 1986 P. D. James i. 24 Dalgliesh..checked his murder bag. 1944 17 Sept. Murder board, selection board that passes on Wac officer candidates. 1976 in W. Safire (1991) 211 ‘Program murder boards’ have been established to insure [sic] that the concept is structured properly. 1999 11 Nov. a27/1 He doesn't run a ‘murder board’—the panel of tough questioners that usually prepares [presidential] candidates for debates and penetrating interviews. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police records 1876 J. M. Buckley xvi. 76 The atmosphere of the Ticket-of-Leave Man is similar to that of ‘pirate and murder books’. 1877 Jan. 189 Neither railways, nor telegraphs, nor newspapers, nor interesting ‘murder books’ had been invented then. 1972 J. Wainwright viii. 162 The final write-up would be bound into a single volume, called ‘The Murder Book’. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police records 1967 W. Keenan iv. 39 He picked up the thick murder file... The reports were in chronological order. 1973 J. Wainwright 123 Bits and pieces which are part of a murder enquiry—the Murder File, the Murder Log..and the Murder Book. 1892 P. G. Vinogradoff i. iii. 92 Tenants..are not assessed with the rest for danegeld or common amercements or the murder fine. 1898 Dec. 884 The three neighbouring villages must pay the murder-fine. 1988 93 344 About £4,380 reached the royal coffers from all judicial sources..forest pleas, murder fines, other pleas. OE 1624 Ðonne halig gæst helle biluceð, morþerhusa mæst. 1861 W. C. Bennett 116 Her lust of blood..Lapping in this vast murder-house the flood Welling from veins of the wild savage brood..slaughter'd for her mirth. 1956 123 317 [It] destroys the clues as effectively as the police would if they cleaned up a murder house with soap and water. 1964 M. Bullock in J. C. Reid 240 ‘Missed writing to-day. Had to go to the Murder House instead.’..‘You mean the Headmaster's Study?’ ‘No, the Dental Clinic.’ 1996 (Electronic ed.) 15 Jan. David Lange is the school dental nurse, whose domain was fondly named the ‘murder house’. 1940 18 Mar. 4/3 As prominent as Reles and Goldstein were in gang circles, neither of them was the president of Murder, Inc. 1958 52 439 The Binh Xuyen..secured a monopoly on gambling, prostitution, and the opium traffic... Headed by a gang of ex-river pirates, it can only be described as ‘Murder, Inc.’ 1995 June 47/2 Today's main counterparts to the old Purple Gang or Murder Inc.—along with the Sicilians and their new Russian partners—are the highly aggressive Chinese triads and the Colombians. 1940 22 Apr. 14/5 The principal speaker..drew a parallel between ‘Murder Incorporated’, recently uncovered by Brooklyn District Attorney William O'Dwyer's investigations, and ‘Moral Murder Incorporated’ as represented by the cloak of academic freedom thrown around a man and his pagan theories of sex morality. 1959 R. Lowell Memories of West St. & Lepke in iv. ii. 86 He..pointed out the T shirted back of Murder Incorporated's Czar Lepke, there piling towels on a rack. 1974 R. A. Caro vi. xxiv. 754 O'Dwyer made his reputation as a DA crusading against Murder, Incorporated. 1999 Fall 160 Here too Murder Incorporated has a franchise,..the FBI's most wanted here on our prosperous frontier. society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > [noun] > murder investigation 1958 2nd Ser. 260 706/1 Study of the Trilling cases falls into the following parts..the Aristo murder inquiry, the oral statements [etc.]. 1972 J. Wainwright viii. 162 The enquiry was still ‘The Murder Enquiry’. 1992 V. McDermid (BNC) 101 ‘You are withholding information that could be material to a murder inquiry,’ he sighed. society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > [noun] > murder investigation 1937 ‘M. Innes’ iii. i. 220 The scene..suggested..a riot rather than a murder-investigation. 1973 ‘R. Lewis’ iii. 28 This is a murder investigation. Give me your assistance. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police records 1972 J. Wainwright viii. 162 The log was still ‘The Murder Log’. 1973 J. Wainwright 123 Bits and pieces which are part of a murder enquiry—the Murder File, the Murder Log..and the Murder Book. the world > life > death > killing > man-killer or homicide > [noun] > murderer or assassin society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > novel > [noun] > crime or detective novel > writer of a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve (Harl. 4866) (1897) 3166 (MED) Bet it is to sle þe mordreman Than suffre hym regne. a1475 in F. J. Furnivall (1903) 239 (MED) I criede on deth, ‘why wilt þu fle? Cum, sle his moder, þu morder man [v.r. morþer man]!’ 1890 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland II. (at cited word) It will contain..a blood-curdler, by the murder-man. 1992 24 Dec. 11/1 (headline) Suicide bid number two by Bergerac murder man. society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > novel > [noun] > crime or detective novel 1880 Nov. 470 During the first fifty pages the great murder mystery claims our whole attention. 1899 G. Ade 198 The Book that begins with a Murder Mystery. 1960 W. H. Auden 26 The sin of Gluttony Is ranked among the Deadly Seven, but in murder mysteries One can be sure the gourmet Didn't do it. 1994 Sept. 33/1 Hiking and white water rafting are usually associated with activity holidays, but how about a murder mystery weekend? the world > life > death > killing > man-killing or homicide > murder or assassination > [noun] society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > [noun] > a charge, accusation, or allegation > criminal charge > specific 1966 R. E. Alter 97 Haul her off on a Murder One rap! 1971 ‘H. Howard’ xiv. 177 Murray's going to stand trial charged with murder one. 1993 23 Dec. 16/3 Gaby got Claire off on the Murder One count, but she was convicted of offering an indignity to a cadaver. society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > [noun] > a charge, accusation, or allegation > criminal charge > specific 1929 D. Hammett (1930) xv. 169 He hasn't a chance in the world of hanging murder-raps on them. 1992 J. Stern & M. Stern 327/1 He was stuck with a murder rap because a fellow killer..ratted on him for rubbing out another mob boss. society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > [noun] > murder investigation > equipment 1966 21 280 He is constantly aware of some presence observing him as he retreats from the murder room. 1968 P. N. Walker xv. 143 I'd like a room set aside as a Murder Room. 1972 G. Sereny i. iii. 38 The ‘Murder Room’ at Newcastle's West End Police..was a hive of activity all night. society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > [noun] > murder investigation > police 1929 M. A. Gill 8/1 Murder squad, police who investigate murders. 1958 S. Hyland xlv. 220 A straightforward fact..accepted by Macaulay and his murder squad. 2001 (Nexis) 9 May A man of 40 is being quizzed by murder squad detectives after a woman was stabbed to death. the world > life > death > killing > suicide > [noun] > types of 1873 12 Aug. 6/1 The murder-suicide tragedy in Vesey Street. 1904 27 Mar. 7/5 (heading) Murder-suicide stirs Roslindale. Artist Brown kills wife and then himself. 1908 10 Sept. 8/4 The sensational murder-suicide pact which resulted in the death of Dr. Frederick Rustin. 2011 C. Lundy (ed. 2) i. 15 Recently unemployed and bankrupt, parents of three children carried out a murder-suicide pact to end their financial problems. 2019 (Nexis) 3 Jan. 3 b [He] shot his brother and then himself in an apparent murder-suicide. 1952 B. B. Turkus & S. Feder iii. 54 No plea to murder two, or any other kind of murder. 1998 (Electronic ed.) 29 June Police said they had found a knife that was probably the murder weapon and that..[he] would be charged with murder two. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022). murdern.2 Origin: Of uncertain origin. Etymology: Origin uncertain; probably the same word as murder n.1 (perhaps alluding to the crow's traditional association with violent death, or, as suggested in quot. 1939, to its harsh and raucous cry). the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > larger song birds > family Corvidae (crow) > [noun] > flock a1475 MS Porkington 10 in (1909) 53 A morther of crowys. c1475 f. 56 A Mursher of Crowys. ?1478 (Caxton) (1822) 30 A murther of crowes. 1939 C. E. Hare xxi. 132 Birds... Terms which represent noises or cries... Crows, murder. 1973 P. Buchanan (title) A murder of crows. 1992 A. W. Eckert v. 320 Chiksika absently watched a murder of crows flying in ragged, ungainly pattern in the distance. 1994 Fall 14/2 A murder of crows squabbles for roosting rights atop a ponderosa tree. 2009 M. A. Belanger 133 By itself, a crow is just a crow, but a group of crows together is known as a murder of crows. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). murderv. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Middle Dutch morderen , moorderen , mordren , Old High German murdren , murdiren (early modern German, German regional mördern ; compare Middle High German ermorderen ), Gothic maurþrjan < the Germanic base of murder n.1 In Old English only prefixed forms of the verb are attested, compare amyrðrian (see amurder v.), formyrðrian , formyrðran (compare for- prefix1 1e), ofmyrðrian , ofmyrðran (compare of- prefix 1a). Earlier use of the unprefixed form is perhaps implied by Old English myrðrung murdering n.; the Middle English verb may also be partly aphetic < amyrðrian , and partly a new formation < murder n.1 (probably reinforced by Anglo-Norman, Old French, and post-classical Latin parallels: see below).The majority of the forms apparently show assimilation to the noun, and probably also show influence of the corresponding Anglo-Norman, Old French, and post-classical Latin forms ( < Germanic: see discussion s.v. murder n.1; variation between forms in t and d in French probably reflects borrowing of the word from Frankish at two distinct historical periods): Anglo-Norman moerdrir, mordre, mourdrer, murdrer, murdrir, Old French mordrir, murdrir, murtrir (12th cent.; French meurtrir to bruise), post-classical Latin murdrare, murdrire (both from 12th cent. in British sources). I. Literal uses. 1. the world > life > death > killing > man-killing or homicide > murder or assassination > murder or assassinate [verb (transitive)] α. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 8453 Arrchelauss munnde..mirrþrenn þeȝȝre child. Ȝiff þatt he mihhte himm findenn. ?c1225 (?a1200) (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 179 Ȝef þu herdest seggen þet mon þet þe is leouest were adreint oðer imurðred [c1230 Corpus imurðret]..þulliche þochtes..wrencheð ut sonre fleschliche fondunges. c1300 Judas Iscariot (Harl.) 21 in F. J. Furnivall (1862) 107 Hi nuste what hem was to done, þo þat child was ibore; Loþ hem was to murþrie [v.r. morþry] here flesch and here blod. c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 2383 Þe kinges ȝonge breþeren aurel & ambrose Dradde vor hor eritage ymorþred to be. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) 1116 (MED) He will þat he bii þe vttrage, þat murþerhed [a1400 Fairf. mirþerret, a1400 Gött. murtherrt, a1400 Trin. Cambr. murþereþ] sua is ane ymage. c1400 (a1376) W. Langland (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. iv. 42 (MED) He maynteniþ his men to murþre myne hynen. a1450 (1885) 429 But tche we entent How þei mourthered þat man þat we of mene. 1567 (1814) III. 27/2 Tressonablie schamefullie and horriblie murthourit. c1600 (1875) I. 59 The Abbott of Towre Hill, being my [r] therd. 1631 T. Dekker iii. 47 Tor. You will not murther me! Queen Ile cure you of the Kings euill. 1673 J. Ray 399 There be..cut-throats ready to murther any man for a small piece of mony. 1722 D. Defoe 314 They may best Judge that understand how easy Men are, that can Murther People to prevent Danger. a1797 E. Burke Ess. Abridgm. Eng. Hist. (rev. ed.) in (1812) V. 688 All historians are..agreed that he murthered his nephew. 1830 M. W. Shelley III. xix. 302 His poor ghost has been seen on the battlements coming from this very chamber, where he was murthered. 1889 ‘M. Twain’ xxx. 386 Three did escape..and ye will do well to publish it and set justice upon their track, for these murthered the baron and fired the house. 1960 J. Barth iii. xxi. 779 We'll have no profit in our bargain if John Coode murthers us. the world > life > death > killing > man-killing or homicide > murder or assassination > murder or assassinate [verb (intransitive)] 1439 V. 16/2 They can nat be take to be justefied by the lawe, but ryde and gone as outelawes, waitynge a tyme to murdre, sclee, and other grete harmes in that contray to do. 1535 Jer. vii. 9 When ye haue stollen, murthured, committed aduoutrie, and periury. 1600 W. Shakespeare iv. iii. 254 Haue you a ruffin that will sweare, drinke, daunce, Reuell the night rob, murder, and commit The oldest sinnes, the newest kind of waies? View more context for this quotation 1646 J. Temple (1746) 193 The Names of such as murthered, this Examinant knoweth not. 1684 T. Otway v. 63 No Moroding now: we'll burn, rob, demolish and murder another time together. a1762 Lady M. W. Montagu et al. 103 For tho' in law, to murder be to kill, In equity the murder's in the will. 1857 J. Hyde vii. 181 These men will fight, lie, rob, murder for Mormonism if commanded. 1893 A. Bierce 5 He felt as one who has murdered in the dark, not knowing why nor whom. 1929 Nov. 8/2 They assaulted, robbed, and murdered without pity, taking all that the ‘Habaneros’ possessed. 1988 B. W. Aldiss iv. 73 We subscribe to the idea that it is wrong to murder or steal. the world > life > death > killing > suicide > [verb (reflexive)] c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 8124 He badd himm brinngenn ænne cnif..& he þa toc itt sone..& wollde himm sellfenn mirrþrenn. c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer 1536 He hadde lever hymself to morder, and dye, Than that men shulde a lovere hym espye. c1450 ( G. Chaucer 724 Thogh..ye for sorwe mordred yourselve, Ye sholde be dampned. c1518 i. sig. Aij Marys aunte hylde on the yonge dukes party and afterwarde Murdered hyr selfe. 1577 R. Willes & R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria f. 253 The condempned person..launcyng his body a crosse from the brest downe all the belly, murdreth him selfe. 1629 J. Cole 33 The man that murdereth himselfe, after the committing of the sin, hath not any time of repentence. 1677 E. Smith in (1890) App. v. 38 They say he murdered himselfe..because of some distast betwixt his master and him. 1827 T. B. Macaulay Machiavelli in (1865) I. 37/1 Othello murders his wife;..he ends by murdering himself. 1972 1 393 One rarely says of a person who committed suicide by means of sleeping pills that ‘he murdered himself’. 1986 37 310 The crown's prosecutors used the evidence to prove that he murdered himself. 3. the world > life > death > killing > slaughter > [verb (transitive)] c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 2681 (MED) Þo he sei is felawes ymorþred so villiche, God ernest he nom to him..is felawes to awreke. a1375 (c1350) (1867) 2859 (MED) Þe komli kerneles were to-clatered wiþ engines, & mani of here miȝthi men murdred to deþe. c1455 c. 138 Bot he be of the kyn of him that is murtherit dead. c1540 (?a1400) 10701 Paris in pyne was pricket at his hert, To se his men so be mard, & murtherit to dethe. c1540 (?a1400) 11140 There murtherit were mony of the mayn troiens. ?1572 R. Sempill (single sheet) For innocents ar murtherit downe Without remors in land and towne. 1590 C. Marlowe sig. H3v Dismount the Cannon of the aduerse part, Murther the foe and saue their walles from breach. 1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus ix. 337 If the elephant chanceth to breake through the hedge, he murthereth as many men as he can finde. a1689 A. Behn (1690) ii. iv. 24 Shou'd I stand by and see my Country ruin'd, my King dishonour'd, and his Subjects Murder'd? 1726 J. Swift II. iv. xii. 194 Those Countries which I have described, do not appear to have a Desire of being conquered, and enslaved, murdered or driven out by Colonies. 1821 T. Jefferson Autobiogr. in (1984) 22 He is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them, by murdering the people on whom he also obtruded them. 1859 C. Dickens iii. ii. 176 They are..Murdering the prisoners. 1876 Ld. Tennyson v. i. 149 They turn on the pursuer, horse against foot, They murder all that follow. 1910 I. 67/2 A second expedition became necessary later on, two small patrols having been treacherously murdered. 1993 6 Feb. 16/2 This week he sent his death squads into Kinshasa, murdering 1,000 people. the world > life > death > killing > killing of animals > kill animal [verb (transitive)] 1600 W. Shakespeare iv. iii. 207 Like the bees,..We bring it to the hiue: and like the bees, Are murdred for our paines. View more context for this quotation 1704 B. Mandeville 57 Perhaps he might have foul'd the Bed, Murder'd a Bird. 1773 J. Robertson (rev. ed.) 104 It was a shame To murder birds of any sort but Game. 1851 H. Melville lxv. 335 No doubt the first man that ever murdered an ox was regarded as a murderer. 1863 W. C. Baldwin vi. 192 I found Swartz and the Kaffirs exulting over a cow and young heifer, which they had murdered among them in about twelve shots. a1902 F. Norris (1903) vii. 232 I don't believe in lounging around clubs, or playing with race horses, or murdering game birds. 1954 J. Steinbeck iii. 20 Killer whales attacked the sea lions near Seal Rocks and murdered a great number of them. 1991 9 Sept. 40/3 In Fiji I was soon squashing insects... At first I'd yelp with disgust, but soon I was shouting gleefully as I mashed. And then the shouting stopped and I just murdered them in blasé silence. II. Extended uses. the world > life > death > killing > kill [verb (transitive)] ?c1225 (?a1200) (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 230 Me þu unseli sunful. þa þu þurch dedlich sunne Murðredest [a1250 Titus murðredes; a1300 Caius murdredest] godes spuse. a1425 J. Wyclif (1871) II. 70 (MED) After þat he..murþeride [v.rr. murþere; devourid; L. devoravit] his goodis wiþ hooris, is come, þou hast killid to him a fat calf. c1425 J. Lydgate (Augustus A.iv) i. 2060 (MED) Alas! my pitous and woful aventure Is to rewful, and my mortal peyne, So to be mordred, and dar me not compleyne. 1593 W. Shakespeare sig. Diijv Thy eyes shrowd tutor, that hard heart of thine, Hath taught them scornfull tricks, & such disdaine, That they haue murdred this poore heart of mine. View more context for this quotation c1600 (?c1395) (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) 666 Þei wolden y-worþen so grete To passen any mans miȝt to morþeren þe soules. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. ii. 34 Macbeth does murther Sleepe, the innocent Sleepe. View more context for this quotation 1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes ii. ii. 40 in II A nimble taile Made like an auger, with which taile she wrigles Betwixt the coasts of a Ship... A most braue deuice, To murder their flat bottomes. 1711 in (1885) App. v. 186 It is inexpressible, how well he prepared for his long departure, his desired exit; murdering all hearts, who viewed him in that state. 1713 J. Swift 18 Mar. (1948) II. 641 Dilly murders us with his If-Puns. 1776 J. Adams (1854) IX. 421 Your motion..for sending ambassadors to France with conditional instructions, was murdered. 1797 R. Southey xvi. 275 There is not a part of the civilized world where the female mind is not murdered by the customs of society. 1808 A. Scott (ed. 2) 31 Our ancestors were never..Murder'd wi' sic horrid ills As thae horse-jading threshing mills. 1869 ‘M. Twain’ xxxiv. 375 Papers are suppressed..and spring up the next day under a new name. During the ten days..we staid there one paper was murdered and resurrected twice. 1884 W. C. Smith 48 Suspicion murders love, and from its death Come anguish and remorse. 1915 L. M. Montgomery viii. 81 To sleep went Jane easily and speedily; but..she had certainly contrived to murder sleep for Anne. 1986 ‘W. Trevor’ 232 The price of it would murder you. the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > cause or effect (harm) [verb (transitive)] > do harm or injury to > affect detrimentally the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > inaccuracy, inexactness > incorrectness of language > abuse language [verb (transitive)] 1644–7 J. Cleveland 4 Thus, they kill a man over and over, as Hopkins and Sternhold murder the Psalmes, with another to the same. ?1692 7 The Sense too oft is murder'd by the Sound. 1728 J. Morgan I. i. 213 The Spaniards most corruptly and most abusively murder and confound several Letters. 1751 J. Wesley 2 In your Second [section], you cite (and murder) four or five Lines from one of my Journals. 1830 F. Marryat III. v. 113 Don't kill Billy..it's bad enough to have murdered Shakspeare. 1861 G. J. Whyte-Melville I. 199 Bella..insisted on her teacher sitting down with her to roast chicken when they ought to have been murdering a duet. 1913 G. B. Shaw in May 55/1 In England his music is murdered by the tradition of the big chorus! 1986 D. Caute i. iii. 42 In the Roundhouse and the Royal Court they now murder language and with it reason. the world > action or operation > inaction > idleness, lack of occupation or activity > cause to be idle or inactive [verb (transitive)] > occupy oneself triflingly with > kill (time or a period) 1700 S. Cobb 9 Others with much pain, like S–t–le, Write, Who, when they've Murder'd so much costly Time, Beat the vext Anvil with continual Chime..Create a British Prince as hard a Task. 1712 J. Addison No. 371. ¶8 A different kind of Men, who are the Pests of all polite Conversation, and murder Time as much as either of the two former. 1756 G. Washington Let. in (1889) I. 241 If the hurry of business..will admit of an opportunity to murder a little time in writing to me, I should receive the favour as a mark of..esteem. 1764 ‘G. Psalmanazar’ 95 Thus having murdered, as I may say, another year, we were dismissed. 1817 I. D'Israeli 1st Ser. III. 177 Murdering time by a constant round of giddy dissipation. 1827 W. Scott 8 Aug. (1941) 86 It kills time, or rather murders it, this company-keeping. 1880 June 202/1 The shabby and swarthy Creoles whom we sometimes see helping better-kept kinsmen to murder time on the banquettes of the old French Quater. 1839 C. Dickens i. 25 Put your hand in your pocket, you little scoundrel, or I'll murder you when the gentleman goes. 1886 E. E. Kidder (typescript) ii. ii. 15 Oh no! Not for a ten dollar note. He'd murder me. 1891 T. Hardy II. xxi. 3 ‘O, Lard, here's a time!’ said Jack, looking out o' winder at 'em. ‘She'll murder me!... Don't tell her where I be!’ 1939 J. Joyce iii. 460 So don't keep me now for a good boy for the love of my fragrant saint, you villain,..or I'll first murder you. 1942 T. Rattigan ii. ii. 66 Patricia. You're ill. I'm going to ring up a doctor. Teddy. I'll murder you if you do. 1986 Aug. 20/1 Once the hoof's been prepared, you shouldn't need to touch it again with a file. If I see anyone doing that, I'll murder him! 1876 Ld. Tennyson v. ii. 157 They have so maim'd and murder'd all his face There is no man can swear to him. the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > processes or manners of eating > eat via specific process [verb (transitive)] > eat voraciously 1935 Z. N. Hurston i. 24 That's all some people is good for—set 'round and lie and murder groceries. 1965 G. Melly x. 125 He would crouch over his plate..and glare down at the harmless egg and inoffensive bacon enunciating, as though it were part of some barbarous and sadistic ritual, the words, ‘I'll murder it’. 1973 in D. J. Howe & S. J. Walker (1998) 254 I could just murder a cup of tea. 1986 Winter 35/1 I could murder a plate of ham and eggs. 1994 E. Palmer xxvi. 248 He got dressed, and then, feeling that he could murder a cup of tea, went downstairs. 1999 25 May 21/1 Mandy..said she could murder some food, demolished a pizza and left us staring after her when she went up to bed. society > leisure > sport > winning, losing, or scoring > win, lose, or score [verb (transitive)] > win > defeat 1952 G. Talbot in H. Wentworth & S. B. Flexner (1960) 349/2 The National Leaguers..eat up south-paws. They murdered them all season. 1973 ‘J. Patrick’ v. 49 Mick had stepped in and challenged Bertie to a ‘square-go’. ‘Mick murdered him, man’, Tim recalled. 1988 Summer 20/1 He more than made up by ‘murdering’ a lack-lustre McEnroe..in just 79 whizz-bang minutes. 1991 Dec. 159/2 Compaq..nuked its SRP because it was consistently getting murdered in price comparisons by Dell in the US. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < |
