internecine
English
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internecine
- /ˌɪntəˈniːsaɪn/ UK
- /-sɪn/ UK
- /ˌɪntɚˈnɛsin/ US
- /ˌɪntɚˈnisin/ US
- /ˌɪntɚˈnɛsən/ US
Rhymes with -iːn
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Latin internecīnus (“deadly”), from internecium (“a massacre, bloodbath; an eradication”) + -īnus. In Latin, the sememe 'between' was here not expressed by the prefix, it instead either had a somewhat emphatic meaning or meant "down, under", comparable to its use in other Latin terms related to death: see interficiō and intereō. The English current sense is thus a reanalysis of the Latin through English inter-.
adjective
- Mutually destructive; most often applied to warfare. Internecine strife in Gaza claimed its most senior victim yesterday when militants assassinated one of the most hated security chiefs there.
- Characterized by struggle within a group, usually applied to an ethnic or familial relationship. The Mongol people were plagued by internecine conflict until Genghis Khan unified them by focusing their aggression outwards on other peoples.
Translations
Every language
adj mutually destructive
| 中文 | 自相殘殺的 /自相残杀的 zìxiāngcánshā de, 兩敗俱傷的 /两败俱伤的 liǎngbàijùshāng de |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | अन्तरवधीय antaravdhīya |
| Deutsch | gegenseitig vernichtend, für beide Seiten zerstörerisch |
| Ελληνικά | αλληλοεξοντωτικός alliloexontotikós, αλληλοκτόνος alliloktónos |
| Русский | истреби́тельный istrebítelʹnyj |
adj characterized by struggle within a group
| 中文 | 內部（衝突）的 /内部（冲突）的 |
|---|---|
| Français | intestin |
| Deutsch | intern |
| Italiano | intestino |
| Русский | междоусо́бный meždousóbnyj |
| العربية | دَاخِلِيّ dāḵiliyy |
Talk about this word "internecine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/internecine. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. internecine. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/internecine "internecine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/internecine.Cite this
@misc{internecine_2026,
title = {internecine},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/internecine},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
