Etymology

bactericide

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Today it means: Any substance that kills bacteria, especially one that is otherwise harmless. Full definition →

Latin caedō ← Proto-Italic *kaidō ← Proto-Indo-European *kh₂éydeti
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The story

  1. Ancient Greekβακτηρία (baktēría)
  2. Ancient Greekβακτήριον (baktḗrion)
  3. New Latinbactērium
  4. Englishbacterium
  5. Proto-Indo-European*kh₂eyd-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*kh₂éydeti
  7. Proto-Italic*kaidō
  8. Latincaedō
  9. English todaybactericide

From bacterium + -cide.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.