-cide

-cide

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

Origin:
late Middle English < Latin -cīda killer, -cīdium act of killing, derivatives of caedere to cut down, kill (in compounds -cīdere)

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To -cide
Collins
World English Dictionary
-cide
 
n combining form
1.  indicating a person or thing that kills: insecticide
2.  indicating a killing; murder: homicide
 
[from Latin -cīda (agent), -cīdium (act), from caedere to kill]
 
-cidal
 
adj combining form

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
-cide is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

-cide
"killer," from Fr. -cide, from L. -cida "cutter, killer, slayer," from -cidere, comb. form of caedere "to strike down, chop, beat, hew, fell, slay," from PIE *kae-id-, from base *(s)k(h)ai- "to strike" (Pokorny, not in Watkins; cf. Skt. skhidati "beats, tears," Lith. kaisti "shave.") For L. vowel change,
see acquisition. The element also can represent "killing," from Fr. -cide, from L. -cidium "a cutting, a killing."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

-cide suff.

  1. Killer: bactericide.

  2. Act of killing: suicide.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
-cide  
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT