Cide
/saɪd/noun
A combining form meaning "killer" or "killing," used in words such as homicide and pesticide.
Did you know?The -cide ending comes through Latin from the same Indo-European root that gave Greek words for killing, so this little suffix has been naming death for over two millennia.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʷeyh₃-
“to live”
Ancient Greek
Greek
-κτόνος (-ktonos) / related verb forms
“killing, slaying”
Latin
Latin
-cida
“killer, slayer”
Old French
Old French
-cide
“killer, slayer”
Modern English
English
-cide
“a killing agent or an act of killing”