Bactericidal

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a compound that serves to eliminate bacteria and prevent their reproduction
2. Effective at destroying bacteria and stopping their growth
3. Having the property to eliminate bacterial organisms through action or chemical means

Etymology: The word is built from two parts, one Greek and one Latin, and the Greek part started out meaning something quite different from "germ." In ancient Greek, "baktēría" meant a walking stick or cane, the sense it kept for centuries. In the 1800s, scientists in the field now called microbiology borrowed the diminutive form "baktērion," a little staff, to name the tiny rod-shaped organisms they were observing under the microscope, because many of them looked like little sticks. The Latinised "bacterium" followed, and English adopted it in the nineteenth century. The second half, "-cidal," comes from Latin "caedere," "to cut or kill," which gave English words like "homicide" and "suicide" through Middle French. Joining "bacteri(um)" to "-cidal," the Latin-derived suffix "-cidal" yields an adjective meaning "killing bacteria." It is a modern scientific coinage built from classical parts, not a word the ancient Greeks or Romans ever used.

Synonyms: antibacterial, germicidal