Etymology Map
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Murder

3 stages from Old English to English.

Today it means the unlawful premeditated killing of one person by another

Where does the word "murder" come from? It comes from Old English morþor, passing through Anglo-Norman before entering English (1300s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
morþor
Old English · medieval
"secret killing"
a native Germanic word for secret killing; Anglo-Saxon law let open killings be settled with a payment (wergild), but murder could not be
2
Stage 2 of 3
murdrum
Anglo-Norman · 1100s
"secret homicide; the fine for it"
Law French and Latin form, from Frankish; after 1066 the Normans fined any district where a Norman was found secretly killed, a penalty called the murdrum
3
Stage 3 of 3
murder
English · 1300s
"unlawful premeditated killing"
the Norman -d- replaced the native -th-; Archbishop Thomas Becket's murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 became the most notorious of the age
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Read the full story

Murder’s story begins in Old English: morþor meant “secret killing.” A native Germanic word for secret killing; Anglo-Saxon law let open killings be settled with a payment (wergild), but murder could not be. By 1100s, the word had taken hold in Anglo-Norman as murdrum. Law French and Latin form, from Frankish; after 1066 the Normans fined any district where a Norman was found secretly killed, a penalty called the murdrum. It reached English by 1300s as murder. The Norman -d- replaced the native -th-; Archbishop Thomas Becket's murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 became the most notorious of the age. Today, murder means the unlawful premeditated killing of one person by another.