Word of the Day: Disinfectant
disinfectant
dis-in-fec-tant / dĭs-ĭn-fĕk-tənt
adjective
1. causing the destruction of bacteria and other harmful microorganisms
I keep disinfectant wipes in my bag for when I have to use a supermarket trolley or something like that.
Paula Radcliffe, 1973 –
noun
1. an element that destroys bacteria and other harmful microorganisms
The best natural disinfectant, sunshine; the best germ disinfectant, formaldehyde; the best physical disinfectant, soap; the best moral disinfectant, publicity.
Front page of the Board of Health bulletin published in an Abilene, Kansas newspaper in 1907
etymology
From the French adjective and noun desinfectant, which is derived from a combination of the Latin prefix dis- (indicating a taking away or undoing) and the Latin verb inficio, inficere, infeci, infectum (dye, tint, discolor, taint, poison), which is a combination of the Latin prepositional prefix in- (in) and the Latin verb facio, facere, feci, factum (make).
Thank you to Allen Ward for providing this etymology.
