manslaughter
/ˈmænˌslɔːtə/
manslaughter means the slaying of a human being. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 79 out of 100.
manslaughter is pronounced /ˈmænˌslɔːtə/.
Why “manslaughter” is a great word
MANSLAUGHTER — [Noun] The unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought, as in cases of criminal negligence or in the heat of passion. From Middle English manslaȝter, manslauter, equivalent to man ("person") + slaughter ("killing"), adapted from or cognate with Old English mansliht ("murder; killing of a person"), from mann ("person") + sliht ("killing"). First recorded in the 13th century. Unlike "murder," which implies the cold architecture of malice aforethought, or "homicide," which is the broad, neutral fact of one person killing another, manslaughter is the law's grim taxonomy for a moment's catastrophic failure. It is the fist that connects in a flash of rage, the car that veers because of a glanced-at text, the unsecured scaffold that gives way; a legal testament that the gravest harm can spring not from a wicked heart, but from a single, irreversible instant of human frailty, forever suspending its perpetrator between guilt and ruinous chance.
Etymology
From Middle English manslaȝter, manslauter, equivalent to man + slaughter, or taken as an adaptation of Old English mansliht (“murder; killing of a person”), from mann (“person”) + sliht (“killing”), see manslaught. Cognate with Scots manslauchter (“homicide”). Compare also Old Frisian monslaga (“murder”).
noun
- The slaying of a human being.“For that cause We decreed for the Children of Israel that whosoever killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind.”
- The unlawful killing of a human, either in negligence or incidentally to the commission of some unlawful act, but without specific malice, or upon a sudden excitement of anger; considered less culpable than murder, but more culpable than justifiable homicide.