self-kill

self-kill

English

Alternative forms

• selfkill, self kill

Etymology

From self- +‎ kill, or from Middle English *selfkillen, *selfkyllen, *selfcullen, *selfcwellen, from Old English *seolfcwellan, *selfcwellan (“to kill oneself”); compare Old English selfcwala, selfcwalu (“suicide, self-slaughter”).

Verb

self-kill (third-person singular simple present self-kills, present participle self-killing, simple past and past participle self-killed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To kill oneself; commit suicide.
   • 1904, Dickinson School of Law, Penn State law review:

     As his self-killing would not have been murder, his acts done in order to self-kill are not an attempt to murder.

   • 1995, Gavin Fairbairn, Contemplating suicide:

     It might be suggested that if it is possible to think of the acts of people such as John and the young clerk, who kill themselves to wreak revenge on others, as falling short of suicide though they intentionally self kill, […]

Derived terms

• self-killing