genocide (English)
Where does "genocide" come from?
The word 'genocide' was coined in the 1940s by Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin to describe the systematic destruction of specific human groups. He constructed the term by combining the Ancient Greek 'génos' (race or kind) with the Latin-derived suffix '-cide' (an act of killing). Both roots trace back to deep Proto-Indo-European origins, 'génos' to the root for birth and lineage, and '-cide' to the root for cutting or felling.
Full etymology tree
- genocide (English), 'The systematic and deliberate destruction of a group of people; typically by killing substantial numbers of them, on the basis of their ethnicity, religion, or nationality.'
- compound gēnos (gēnos) (Ancient Greek)
- inherited *ǵénh₁os (Proto-Indo-European), 'race, lineage'
- compound gēns (Latin), 'Roman clan (related by birth or marriage and sharing a common name and often united by certain religious rites)'
- inherited *ǵénh₁tis (Proto-Indo-European), 'birth, production'
- suffix -cide (Middle French)
- inherited -cīdium (Latin), 'Denotes an act of killing or a slaughter'
- derived -cīda (Latin), 'Noun-forming suffix denoting “one who kills” or “one who cuts” from noun stems.'
- derived caedō (Latin), 'to cut, hew, fell'
- inherited *keh₂id- (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived caedō (Latin), 'to cut, hew, fell'
- derived -cīda (Latin), 'Noun-forming suffix denoting “one who kills” or “one who cuts” from noun stems.'
- inherited -cīdium (Latin), 'Denotes an act of killing or a slaughter'
- compound gēnos (gēnos) (Ancient Greek)
Direct ancestors
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris