filicide

Filicide is the deliberate act of a parent killing their own child.

The term “filicide” is derived from the Latin words filius and filia (meaning ‘son’ and ‘daughter’) and the suffix –cide, meaning to kill, murder, or cause death.

There are three types of filicide: neonaticide (the murder of a child less than one day old), infanticide (the murder of a child older than one day and less than one year old), and pedicide (murder of a child older than one year and less than age sixteen).

Filicide can be committed by either parent, but it is more commonly committed by mothers.