Vermicide
/ˈvɜːr.mɪ.saɪd/noun
A substance used to kill worms or intestinal parasites.
Did you know?Vermicide is formed from Latin vermis meaning “worm” plus -cide, the same deadly ending behind homicide and suicide, a suffix that turns language into an instrument of killing.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wermi-
“worm”
Latin
Latin
vermis
“worm”
Latin
Latin
-cidium / -cida
“killing, killer”
18th–19th Century
English
vermicide
“a substance for killing worms or parasitic worms”
Modern English
English
vermicide
“a worm-killing agent”
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