Chemical substances designed to kill or control insects that are considered pests. Used in agriculture, homes, and public health to protect crops, property, and human health.
From Latin 'insectum' (insect) + '-cide' (from 'caedere', to kill). The suffix '-cide' appears in many words meaning 'killer of' (homicide, pesticide, etc.).
The '-cide' family of words reveals humanity's relationship with things we want to eliminate - from insects to weeds to bacteria, we've created a whole vocabulary around targeted elimination, each word a small linguistic weapon!
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