murder

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   alter so as to make unrecognizable

   The tourists murdered the French language

2. 2
   verb

   kill intentionally and with premeditation

   The mafia boss ordered any enemies to be murdered.

3. 3
   noun

   a collection of crows

   The murder sat upon the roof making noises.

4. 4
   noun

   The crime of killing a person unlawfully, especially with predetermination.

   The defendant was charged with murder.

5. 5
   noun

   The act of killing a person (or sometimes another being) unlawfully, especially with predetermination

   There have been ten unsolved murders this year alone.

6. 6
   noun

   Something terrible to endure.

   This headache is murder.

7. 7
   noun

   A group of crows; the collective noun for crows.

   For his part, Melchior was growing unhappy with the murder of crows. They had been patiently following Arthur for hours, trailing him from town to country.

8. 8
   noun

   Something remarkable or impressive.

   Right quick another cat spoke up real loud, saying, “That’s murder man, really murder,” and his eyes were signifying too.

Etymology

From Middle English murder, murdre, mourdre, alteration of earlier murthre (“murder”) (see murther), from Old English morþor (“secret slaying, unlawful killing”) and Old English myrþra (“murder, homicide”), both from Proto-West Germanic *morþr, from Proto-Germanic *murþrą (“death, killing, murder”), from Proto-Indo-European *mr̥tro- (“killing”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer-, *mor-, *mr̥- (“to die”). Akin to Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌸𐍂 (maurþr, “murder”), Old High German mord (“murder”), Old Norse morð (“murder”), Old English myrþrian (“to murder”) and morþ. The -d- in the Middle English form may have been…