| verbicide |
| Definition:
The destroying or perverting of a word's meaning. Note: A person who performs verbicide is also called a verbicide. |
| Etymology: It derives from the Latin verbum, word + cida, cutter or slayer. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: The first OED citation for the word in this sense is from 1858: "Homicide and verbicide — that is, violent treatment of a word with fatal results to its legitimate meaning … — are alike forbidden." (O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. i. (1859) 10) |