genocidal

Etymology

It is formed from English genocide + -al.^[2][3][4][5] Genocide was coined in 1944 by the Polish-born American lawyer Raphael Lemkin, with reference to the Nazi extermination of the Jews,^[3][2] from Ancient Greek γένος (génos, “race, kind”) and -cide.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of, relating to or involving genocide: 1944, in an article by R. Lemkin in the Washington Post of 18 December,^[2] the year in which he introduced the noun.^[2][3] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster Unabridged date the adjective to 1948, as did the 1989 edition of the OED.^[3][4][6]

Semantic evolution

The adjective has stayed close to the noun: besides acts and policies of genocide, it describes people and regimes capable of genocide or tending towards it.^[2][4] The adverb genocidally is also recorded.^[3]

Timeline

• 1944 – of, relating to or involving genocide.^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster Unabridged give 1948.^[3][4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to, involving or amounting to genocide: genocidal massacres.^[2][4][1]
2. Capable of genocide or tending towards it: a genocidal regime.^[2][4]

Related words

• genocide
• genus
• genocidally

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
6. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press