Agrichemicals

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The term refers to substances utilized in farming to improve yield and protect crops from pests and diseases
2. These products encompass a variety of synthetic and natural chemicals applied to agricultural land to optimize production and management of crops
3. Substances used in agriculture to enhance crop production and safeguard plants from various pests and diseases are included in this category

Etymology: Agrichemicals is simply the plural of a compound built from two parts: "agri-", from the Latin "ager" meaning field or land, and "chemical". The "chemical" half carries the older history. It descends from the Ancient Greek "khumeia", a word for the art of mixing and transmuting metals, which passed through Arabic "al-kimiyaʾ" and Medieval Latin "alchemia" before the modern "chemia" and "chemicus" were formed in New Latin. English then added its own adjective suffix to give "chemical". The "agri-" element is the newer piece. It is a combining form drawn from Latin "ager", so the whole word joins field-work to the older science of substances. Its meaning is plain: chemicals used on farmland. The compound is a modern coinage made by joining these two existing elements, not a word that existed in classical times.

Synonyms: agricultural chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides