Capable of killing bacteria; describing a substance or process that destroys bacterial cells.
From bacterium + -cidal suffix (from Latin 'caedere' meaning to kill). The -cide root appears in many English words (insecticide, pesticide, suicide) all meaning 'killing of.'
The -cide suffix is fascinating—it comes from Latin 'caedere' (to kill) and builds words that literally mean 'the killing of' whatever prefix precedes it, from genocide to fungicide.
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