darth_ender said:
A couple of semantic differences:
According to CP3S and reportedly the dictionary definition (too lazy to look it up, but I believe him), murder is killing someone illegally.
According to Warbler, murder is killing someone innocent.
My personal definition would be knowingly and with malintent killing someone innocent. It doesn't fit the dictionary defintion, but it fits my moral sensibilities.
Let's just look it up:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/murder
1.
Law . the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered in law. In the U.S., special statutory definitions include murder committed with malice aforethought, characterized by deliberation or premeditation or occurring during the commission of another serious crime, as robbery or arson (first-degree murder), and murder by intent but without deliberation or premeditation (second-degree murder).
4.
Law . to kill by an act constituting murder.
5.
to kill or slaughter inhumanly or barbarously.
World English Dictionary section:
1.
manslaughter Compare homicide the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another
— vb
5.
( also intr ) to kill (someone) unlawfully with premeditation or during the commission of a crime
6.
to kill brutally
Encyclopedia section
in criminal law, the unjustified killing of one person by another, usually distinguished from the crime of manslaughter by the element of malice aforethought. See homicide.
There. Also of interest.
3.
a group or flock of crows.
CROWS ARE MURDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
