Emily Dickinson Lexicon

MUR'DER, n. [Sax. morther, from morth, death; myrthian, to murder; D. moord; G. Dan. and Sw. mord; Ir. marbh; L. mors; Sp. muerte; It. morte; Pehlavi, murdan, to die; Sans. marana; W. marw, to die, which seems to be from marth, lying flat or plain; marthu, to flatten to deaden. If this is the sense, the primary idea is to fail or fall, or to beat down. The old orthography, murther, is obsolete.]

1. The act of unlawfully killing a human being with premeditated malice, by a person of sound mind. To constitute murder in law, the person killing another must be of sound mind or in possession of his reason, and the act must be done with malice prepense, aforethought or premeditated; but malice may be implied, as well as express. Coke. Blackstone.
2. An outcry, when life is in danger.