Formicide

/ˈfɔːrmɪsaɪd/ noun

Definition

The killing of ants, or a substance used to kill ants.

Etymology

From Latin 'formica' (ant) + '-cide' (killing or killer). This parallel term to formicicide uses the same Latin root and death-suffix, creating a word meaning the act or means of ant destruction.

Kelly Says

Formicide and formicicide both mean the same thing but formicide is slightly more common in older scientific texts—they're both perfectly correct, showing how multiple word forms can exist in technical language without either being wrong.

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