-cide

American  

1. a learned borrowing from Latin meaning “killer,” “act of killing,” used in the formation of compound words.

   pesticide, homicide.

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-cide British  

combining form

1. indicating a person or thing that kills

   insecticide

2. indicating a killing; murder

   homicide

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–cide Scientific  

1. A suffix that means “a killer of.” It is used to form the names of chemicals that kill a specified organism, such as pesticide, a chemical that kills pests.

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Usage

What does -cide mean? The combining form -cide is used like a suffix meaning “killer” or "act of killing." It is often used in a variety of scientific and technical terms. The form -cide ultimately comes from Latin caedere, meaning “to kill, to strike down.”What are variants of -cide?While -cide does not have any variants, it is related to the combining form -cidal, which is used to form adjectives that correspond to nouns ending in -cide, as in patricidal. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article on -cidal.

Other Word Forms

• -cidal combining form

Etymology

Origin of -cide

late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin -cīda “killer,” -cīdium “act of killing,” derivatives of caedere “to strike, beat, cut down, kill” (in compounds -cīdere )