If xenocide is the word for species homicide, what would be the analogous term for doing this to one's own species? I was reading an essay on anti-natalism and thought there must be an obvious construction along the lines of suicide, homicide, fratricide, patricide, xenocide, etc. Googling has turned up nothing.
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They would all have to kill themselves voluntarily. Otherwise it would be homicide. Does it ever occur ?– Nigel JOct 21, 2017 at 14:08
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@NigelJ: Obviously smallpox viruses didn't deliberately kill themselves, but I'd hardly say we committed "homicide" by wiping out the species.– FumbleFingersOct 21, 2017 at 14:11
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@FumbleFingers My fault. I meant xenocide.– Nigel JOct 21, 2017 at 14:13
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Actually, I have never heard of any animal committing suicide, that I remember. They seem to have a very strong survival instinct, to me. Is it only humans that do this ?– Nigel JOct 21, 2017 at 14:26
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If everyone committed suicide after having two kids, that wouldn't really accomplish anything, would it? This probably needs to operate on the concept of a species reproductive success and fitness, not individual mortality.– Phil SweetOct 21, 2017 at 14:32
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1 Answer
The prefix 'auto-' means 'self-caused', and the word you want is 'autogenocide'.
Autogenocide is "the mass killing by a government or regime of a section of its own people".
Coined in the late 1970s.
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You need to add references showing that this is an actual word rather than a DIY suggestion, and accepted definitions. While it might work, even such an arcane word has multiple senses. Oct 21, 2017 at 22:33