The murder of a woman or girl, often motivated by hatred or contempt toward women; gender-motivated killing.
From Latin 'femina' (woman) plus English '-cide' (act of killing), modeled on 'homicide,' 'genocide,' and 'fratricide.' This term gained prominence in feminist scholarship and criminology during the 1990s.
The term 'femicide' was deliberately created by scholars to show that murders of women often have a gendered motivation distinct from ordinary murder—giving the crime a specific name made it visible as a social pattern rather than scattered individual tragedies.
Term coined late 20th century to name the systematic killing of women and girls because of their gender; documented historically but linguistically named by feminist scholars.
Use with precision in reference to gender-based killings. Maintain distinction from 'murder' to underscore gendered violence patterns.
Feminist scholars and activists (including Jane Caputi and Diana Russell) created this terminology to make visible the systemic targeting of women; the word itself is an act of witnessing.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.