internecine

Contents

English

WOTD – 20 September 2006

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin internecīnus (“deadly”), from inter (“between”) and necō (“to kill”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɪntəˈniːsaɪn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɪntɚˈnɛsin/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːn

Adjective

internecine (not comparable)

1. 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.

2. 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 and focused their aggression outwards on other peoples.

   • c. 1900, Mark Twain, Autobiography of Mark Twain, published 2010:

     During the year of my engagement — 1869 — while I was out on the lecture platform, the daily letter that came for me generally brought me news from the front — by which expression I refer to the internecine war that was always going on in a friendly way between these two orthographists about the spelling of words.

Translations

mutually destructive

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 自相殘殺的, 自相残杀的 (zìxiāngcánshā de), 兩敗俱傷的, 两败俱伤的 (liǎngbàijùshāng de)

• Finnish: kummallekin tuhoisa (two parties); kaikille tuhoisa (many parties)
• Hindi: अन्तरवधीय (antaravdhīya)

• Italian: intestino (it)
• Maori: haupārua
• Russian: истреби́тельный (ru) (istrebítelʹnyj)

characterized by struggle within a group

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 內部（衝突）的, 内部（冲突）的 (nèibù (chōngtū) de)

• Finnish: riitainen (fi), riitaisa (fi)
• Greek: αλληλοεξοντωτικός (el) (alliloexontotikós)

• Italian: intestino (it)
• Maori: haupārua
• Russian: междоусо́бный (ru) (meždousóbnyj)
• Swedish: inbördes (stridigheter)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: verwoestend (nl)
• Finnish: kummallekin puolelle tuhoisa
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 内輪もめの (うちわもめの, uchiwa mome no)

• Norwegian: gjensidig ødeleggende
• Swedish: ömsesidigt utplånande