Homicide, the killing of one human being by another, is a general term that includes manslaughter and murder. Homicide and manslaughter are synonyms in general use, although, in legal terms, manslaughter is referred to as the unlawful killing of a human being but without premeditated (aforethought) intent. Murder is the killing of a person with malice aforethought. Special statutory definitions and degrees of murder are common in the United States. The killing of someone, whether accidental or planned, is homicide: an accidental death from a traffic occurrence is homicide. Some legal jurisdictions would hold that a traffic death caused by careless driving would be manslaughter but one resulting from the fault of the victim would be homicide. Murder is generally a killing planned ahead and committed with deliberate intent.
Dictionary of problem words and expressions. Harry Shaw. 1975.