ansericide

English

A depiction of ansericide by broadsword

Etymology

From Latin anser +‎ -icide.

Pronunciation

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Noun

ansericide (uncountable) (rare)

1. The killing of a goose.
   • 1868, Tom Hood, chapter 41, in A Golden Heart, London: Chapman and Hall, page 282:

     The major was such a man, and he did not make any attempt to invite Honoria to repose on his chest until he had calculated how far such a step would resemble the killing of the goose to which he was indebted for golden eggs - an act of ansericide that he had not the remotest intention of being guilty of.

   • 1920, Alfred Emmott, Nationalization of Industries: A Criticism, London: T.F. Unwin Limited, page 7:

     The constant answer of Capital when confronted with demands for increases of wages in the old days was what in Fabian circles is described as the plea of "ansericide," the killing of the goose that lays the golden eggs.

   • 2004, Barry Baldwin, “Gareth and Me: A Petronian Pilgrimage”, in Edmund P. Cueva, Jean Alvares, Shannon Byrne, editors, Authors, Authority and Interpreters in the Ancient Novel: Essays in Honour of Gareth L. Schmeling, Barkhuis Publishing, →ISBN, page 40:

     His sight of what went on in the shrine and the ansericide were both unintentional slights.

Related terms

• anserine