Self-killing is a very old word. Greek (hekousios thanatos) and Latin (mors voluntaria) terms saw it as voluntary death. Suicida was used in the Middle Ages but it was considered bad Latin. English and other modern languages coined the word "suicide" in the 17th century. France accepted the word only in the 18th century. In some places, death by self still has no name. It is called "the silly thing: in at least one culture where ASIST is used.

- Maris, Berman, Silverman, A historical perspective on suicide, Comprehensive Textbook on Suicidology, 2000

Suicide is one way to say how someone dies. Coroners or medical examiners must certify a mode of death for every person who dies. The accepted ways of certifying death are natural (most common), homicide (least common), accident, suicide and a group where certifying is difficult called, undetermined.

- Neeleman and Wessely, Changes in classification of suicide in England and Wales: Time trends and associations with coroners - professional backgrounds, Psychological Medicine, 1997

Suicide is generally defined as the act of "self-killing.:

There is no widely accepted definition of suicide. It is a self-inflicted act that results in death (or injury, as in a suicide attempt). The difficulty is deciding whether the person really meant or intended to die - and they can no longer answer for themselves.

- Beautrais, Suicides and serious suicide attempts, Psychological Medicine, 2000

Many who consider suicide would prefer to find a way to live.

Thankfully, we can state with confidence that this is true. Estimates of the number of persons who self-harm compared to those who die by suicide range from 25-100 to 1.

This variety of data happens because of different definitions of self-injury/harm activities and because many persons who harm themselves never appear for help or treatment.

There are two important conclusions resulting from the ratio of harm to death:

1) The largest number of people who harm themselves do not die;

2) the problem is much larger than indicated by numbers or rates of completed death by suicide.

- Moscicki, Gender differences in completed and attempted suicides, Annals of Epidemiology, 1994

History

Suicide is mentioned in the history of all human societies.

Ancient and modern, from societies of hunting and gathering through to large cities with much technology, there are records of human beings dying by their own hand: "suicida," "ownslayer," self-slayer.

Sometimes the dying is culturally accepted and even expected, as in ritual suicides or "dying for one's country (tribe, honor, etc)." Most all of these deaths are also grievous losses no matter what the cultural expectations.

- Maris, Berman, A historical perspective on suicide, Silverman, Comprehensive Textbook on Suicidology, 2000

Suicide keeps on happening - despite being illegal, prohibited, and punished.

From the 5th century in western culture, suicide has been an act against God and state. Terrible penalties were imposed on the survivors and the deceased - getting only a "dogs burial," their corpses being thrown away like other animals.

Occasional arguments for permitted or rational suicide have appeared since the 17th century. In latter half of 20th century, some countries have recognized and accepted suicide as part of the human condition.

- Maris, Berman, A historical perspective on suicide, Silverman, Comprehensive Textbook on Suicidology, 2000

Until recently, trying to kill yourself was against the law.

Making suicide unacceptable by setting laws that made it illegal was intended to discourage suicide. In earlier days, the punishments were extreme as suicide was considered to be a "felony against the self" and thought to undermine religious, social and legal authority.

More recently, the stigma has lessened in some places and these laws have largely been discontinued. In most places, however, it is still unlawful to aid, abet or counsel a person to suicide.

- Lester, Guttman, Scaling national laws on suicide, Crisis, 2002

Many people who might have been famous have died by suicide.

Many famous people throughout history and into the present time, have died by suicide: artists, philosophers, poets, singers, scientists, politicians and soldiers. Some of them became famous only after their death. We can feel sorrow and great loss for the contribution that they and others might have made.

- Lester, Encyclopedia of Famous Suicides, 1997

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