Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “insecticide” come from?

Insecticide comes from French insecticide, from French -cide meaning killer, from Latin -cida, from Latin in- meaning in and Latin -cida, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ne meaning not.

insecticide (English): A substance used to kill insects

Definitions

  1. A substance used to kill insects

Ancestry of “insecticide”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchinsecticideinsecticide
2Frenchinsecteinsect
3Latinīnsectum—
4Latininsectuscut up or into, having been cut up or into;...
5Ancient Greekἔντομονmasculine/feminine accusative singular of...
6Ancient Greekἔντομοςcut in pieces, cut up
7Ancient Greekἐν-in, within; on
8Ancient Greekἐνin, on, at; among; in, at, or during the time of
9Ancient Greekδέρμαskin, hide
10Ancient Greekγλυφήcarving, carved work; hole cut
11Ancient Greek-ῐ́ᾱ{{l|en|-ia}}; "suffix forming abstract feminine...
12Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
13Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Words derived from “insecticide”

  • bioinsecticide
  • mycoinsecticide
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →