Disinfectings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of applying a substance to eliminate or reduce harmful microorganisms on surfaces or objects
2. The act of treating an area to make it free from pathogens or contaminants
3. An action aimed at ensuring cleanliness by destroying or deactivating disease-causing organisms

Etymology: "Disinfectings" is the plural of "disinfecting," a noun for the act of cleaning something to kill germs, so it refers to several such cleanings. The noun comes from the verb "disinfect," which adds the reversing prefix "dis-" to "infect." "Infect" traces back to Latin "inficere," meaning "to dip, stain, or put in," from "in-" plus "facere," "to make." A disinfecting, then, undoes what was put into a surface or body.