The practice or doctrine of fratricide (killing one's brother), or more broadly, the sin or condition of being marked by such wickedness.
From Cain, the biblical murderer of Abel, plus the suffix '-ism' denoting a practice, doctrine, or condition. This theological and literary term emerged in medieval religious discourse to categorize cardinal sins and moral transgressions.
This word shows how a single biblical story became so powerful that an entire concept—the ultimate family betrayal—got named after just one character from that story.
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