genocide
n. C / Un. the intentional killing of a large group of people, especially those from a specific nation or ethnic group. It is a very serious crime that aims to destroy an entire community.
n. the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group. Often used in legal and historical contexts to describe state-sponsored mass violence intended to eliminate a specific population.
The international community must work together to prevent genocide.
The tribunal was established to prosecute those responsible for the genocide and other crimes against humanity.
Scholars debate whether the systematic displacement of the population constituted a genocide or if the intent to physically destroy the group was absent.
Coined by lawyer of Polish-Jewish descent Raphael Lemkin in 1943 or 1944 in reference to the Armenian Genocide (then known by other names; see: Terminology of the Armenian genocide), massacres of Assyrians (such as the Simele massacre and Seyfo) and the Jewish Holocaust. From the stem of Ancient Greek γένος (génos, “race, kind”) (cognate with Latin gēns (“tribe, clan”), whence genus), corresponding to geno- + -cide (“killing, killer”). Piecewise doublet of gendercide. Compare genticide.
Uncountable when referring to the crime in general; countable when referring to specific historical instances.