genocide

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdʒen.ə.saɪd/^[1]

Etymology

It was coined in 1944 by the Polish-born American jurist Raphael Lemkin, in his Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, of the Nazi extermination of the Jews,^[2][3] from Ancient Greek γένος (génos, “race, kind”) and -cide, “a killing”.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Etymonline notes that the regular formation would be genticide, and traces génos to Proto-Indo-European *gene- (“to give birth, beget”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The deliberate, systematic extermination of a national or ethnic group: 1944.^[2][3][7][5]

Semantic evolution

Lemkin explained that genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, but rather a coordinated plan to destroy the foundations of its life.^[3] Genocidal is from 1948.^[2]

Timeline

• 1944 – genocide (Lemkin).^[2][3]
• 1948 – genocidal.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The deliberate, systematic killing of a whole national, racial, political or ethnic group.

Word family

• genocidal
• genocidally

Related words

• homicide
• genus
• genetic
• kin

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press