In Roman history, a fertility festival or religious ceremony in which pregnant cows were sacrificed to the earth goddess Tellus.
From Latin fordicidia, from fordus (pregnant) + caedere (to kill). A direct borrowing of the ancient Roman ritual name, referring to the killing of pregnant cattle.
The Romans sacrificed pregnant cattle to ensure fertile soil—the ritual so important they named an entire festival after the pregnant victims, showing how deeply agriculture shaped their religious calendar.
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