What is the difference between 'homicide' and 'murder'? Is there a difference in British and American usage with regard to this term?
Thanks in advance.
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A lawyer should really answer this. I'm not a lawyer, but here are a couple of comments.
homicide - Focuses on the killing of a human being, in the same way that 'fratricide' focuses on killing one's brother, 'suicide' on killing one's self, etc. Homicide is not necessarily a crime. If a police officer kills someone who shoots first at him, this is not illegal, not murder. 'Justifiable homicide' is the phrase I often hear.
murder - Focuses on the unlawful killing of a human being. Involves some degree of premeditation or intention （first degree and second degree murder, murder in cold blood or in hot blood）. Careless, accidental killing is 'manslaughter' rather than 'murder'.
I look forward to a lawyer's more detailed explanation.
Best wishes, Clive
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Thanks for the explanation. I agree with what you've said. What prompted me to ask this question is because my student asked me for the definition of 'homicide'. After explaining to him, I referred to his dictionary to make sure, and was surprised by what I read. It states that 'homicide' is AmE and 'murder' is BrE or maybe the other way round. I cannot remember which is which.
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Same usage here in the U.S.
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As I understand it, "homicide" is the blanket term for any form of unlawful killing.
Within homicide are sub-terms : murder [killing with malice - planned and intentional killing] and manslaughter [unlawful killing without malice or premeditation] or culpable homicide [used in Scotland - killing as the result of improper conduct].
Recent legislation has made changes to these definitions, but essentially you can say that homicide and murder are synonymous.
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In Singapore, if someone is found guilty of murder, he or she will be sentenced to death by hanging.
In the case of 'homicide', it will be a long prison term.
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It seems that in Singapore, the term "homicide" is being used where in Britain we would use either manslaughter or culpable homicide.
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The answer of the original question depends on the jurisdictions. In some jurisdictions homocide includes various murders like falony murder and capital murder and therefore it is the wider term, which explains why they are used sometimes synonymosly. Maybe you should limit the question to Singapore or to the further jurisdictions of interest? In Germany they are not synonym but it would take too long to explain.
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In Singapore, I read in the newspaper "culpable homicide not amounting to murder". Is this term used in America or Britain?
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As you will see in my earlier reply, "culpable homicide" is used in Scottish law.
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I was referrring to the whole phrase 'culpable homicide not amounting to murder'. Is this phrase used in America or the UK?
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Hi, I've never heard it. Clive
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Sorry - no. A Google search indicates that the phrase is one used in India and the Far East. No US or UK hits （apart from media reports）
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I presume it is wrong usage; it is Singaporean English.
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Actually, I don't think so. The Google search showed that there is a murder charge called this in the Indian legal structure, and it may well be the same in Singapore.
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But Indian English is not recognised, right? Neither is Singapore English. I think I would accept AmE, BrE or Australian English.
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What exactly are you looking for? Your student asked about the difference between homicide and murder, and that has been clearly answered. As to the phrase you are questioning, legal terms for criminal acts vary from one country to another. In India, this phrase seems to be a correct legal term for a crime. It may also be one that is used in Singapore. It is not necessarily a question of inaccurate local English.
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Hi all, Sorry, I know this is off topic but I really couldn't find a better opportunity to ask this question. Is the word one a typo, or was it intended to be used here? Thank you. Best wishes, Peaceblinkfriend
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Hi, It's OK, not a typo. Clive
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Okay. I now know it is not a typo. Thank you, Clive. Could you please tell me why it is used here? What does it do to the sentence? Thanks again. Best wishes, Peaceblinkfriend
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Hi.
the phrase is one used in India and the Far East
Could you please tell me why it is used here? What does it do to the sentence?
'One' is in this kind of context a noun that refers to a single person/thing. Often, this is something that has been mentioned previously.
eg I looked at a red car and a blue car. I bought the blue one.
eg I need to buy a car. I want one that is red.
Best wishes, Clive
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Hi Clive
A Google search indicates that the phrase is one used in India and the Far East. No US or UK hits （apart from media reports） If I remove 'one', does the meaning change?
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Hi,
Not much in this case. However, the use of one here tends to suggest that there are others. Consider these more concrete examples.
eg The car that the police are looking for is damaged at the front.
eg The car that the police are looking for is one damaged at the front. This version more explicitly recognizes that there may be several cars with damage at the front.
Best wishes, Clive |