-cide


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

Origin of -cide

1
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 )

Words Nearby -cide

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How to use -cide in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for -cide

-cide

n combining form
  1. indicating a person or thing that kills: insecticide

  2. indicating a killing; murder: homicide

Origin of -cide

1
from Latin -cīda (agent), -cīdium (act), from caedere to kill

Derived forms of -cide

  • -cidal, adj combining form

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for -cide

-cide

  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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