Murder \Mur"der\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Murdered; p. pr. & vb. n. Murdering.]

[OE. mortheren, murtheren, AS. myr?rian; akin to OHG. murdiren, Goth. ma['u]r?rjan. See Murder, n.]

1. To kill with premediated malice; to kill (a human being) willfully, deliberately, and unlawfully. See Murder, n.

2. To destroy; to put an end to.

[Canst thou] murder thy breath in middle of a word? --Shak.

3. To mutilate, spoil, or deform, as if with malice or cruelty; to mangle; as, to murder the king's English.

Syn: To kill; assassinate; slay. See Kill.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Murder \Mur"der\, n. [OE. morder, morther, AS. mor[eth]or, fr. mor[eth] murder; akin to D. moord, OS. mor[eth], G., Dan., & Sw. mord, Icel. mor[eth], Goth. ma['u]r[thorn]r, OSlav. mr[=e]ti to die, Lith. mirti, W. marw dead, L. mors, mortis, death, mori, moriri, to die, Gr. broto`s (for mroto`s) mortal, 'a`mbrotos immortal, Skr. m[.r] to die, m[.r]ta death. [root]105. Cf. Amaranth, Ambrosia, Mortal.]

The offense of killing a human being with malice prepense or aforethought, express or implied; intentional and unlawful homicide. ``Mordre will out.'' --Chaucer.

The killing of their children had, in the account of God, the guilt of murder, as the offering them to idols had the guilt of idolatry. --Locke.

Slaughter grows murder when it goes too far. --Dryden.

Note: Murder in the second degree, in most jurisdictions, is a malicious homicide committed without a specific intention to take life. --Wharton.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)