Bacteriacides

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A class of substances designed to kill bacteria, thereby preventing bacterial growth or infections
2. agents that specifically target and destroy harmful bacteria
3. chemical or biological products used in medicine or agriculture to eliminate bacterial contamination

Etymology: "Bacteriacides" is the plural of "bacteriacide," a compound built from "bacteria" and the suffix "-cide." The first part comes from the New Latin plural of "bacterium," itself taken from the Greek "baktērion," meaning "little staff" or "rod," a reference to the rod-like shape of the organisms that microscopists first observed. The suffix "-cide" comes from Latin "-cida," the ending of words meaning "killer," as in "homicide," which is formed from "caedere," "to cut down" or "to kill." Put together, the word describes anything that kills bacteria. The pairing is a modern scientific formation, assembled from classical parts to name a class of substances, so it reflects the medical and microbiological vocabulary of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries rather than anything the Greeks or Romans would have recognised.

Synonyms: bactericides, antibacterials, antiseptics, disinfectants, antimicrobials

Antonyms: bacteria promoters, bacteria enhancers