internecine
Mutually destructive; most often applied to warfareMutually destructive; most often applied to warfare.
» This isn't the place for internecine disputes.
Meaning
2 senses(not comparable)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.
gegenseitig vernichtend, für beide Seiten zerstörerisch
истреби́тельныйistrebítelʹnyj
(not comparable)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 by focusing their aggression outwards on other peoples.
intern
междоусо́бныйmeždousóbnyj
(of conflict) within a group or organization
Examples
3 sentencesThis isn't the place for internecine disputes.
The empire collapsed and an internecine war broke out.
ruИмперия рухнула, и началась междоусобная война.
The 4th century was a time of great internecine conflict between competing flavors of Christianity.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 2
Origin
Borrowed from Latin internecīnus (“deadly”), from internecium (“a massacre, bloodbath; anBorrowed from Latin internecīnus (“deadly”), from internecium (“a massacre, bloodbath; an eradication”) + -īnus. In Latin, the sememe 'between' was here not expressed by the prefix, it instead either had a somewhat emphatic meaning or meant "down, under", comparable to its use in other Latin terms related to death: see interficiō and intereō. The English current sense is thus a reanalysis of the Latin through English inter-.
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