Where does “herbicide” come from?
Herbicide derives from French -cide and Latin -cida, meaning "killer," combined with herb from Proto-Indo-European gʰreH₁-, meaning "to grow" or "green plant."
herbicide (English): A substance used to kill plants
Definitions
- A substance used to kill plants
Ancestry of “herbicide”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -icide | Alternative form of -cide |
| 2 | English | -cide | killing; killer |
| 3 | Middle French | -cide | — |
| 4 | Latin | -cīdium | — |
| 5 | Latin | -ium | Suffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes... |
| 6 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |