Antiperspirant

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A preparation applied to the skin to decrease or stop perspiration
2. A compound used on the body to limit or prevent sweat production
3. A product designed to minimize sweating by blocking sweat glands

Etymology: "Antiperspirant" is a plain compound: "anti-" meaning "against," added to "perspirant," a word for something that causes perspiration. "Perspirant" itself comes from "perspire," which traces back to Latin "perspirare," "to breathe through," built from "per" ("through") and "spirare" ("to breathe"). So the word's core idea is literally a substance working against breathing-out through the skin, which is a neat echo of the sweat it is meant to stop. Its construction is transparent, so the word is best understood as a modern coinage formed from familiar parts rather than an old term with a dramatic past.

Synonyms: deodorant, perspiration inhibitor, sweat blocker, fragrance, body spray