microbial

Etymology

It is formed from English microbe + -ial.^[2][3][4] Etymonline takes it from New Latin microbion with -al.^[5] The OED compares the slightly earlier microbic and microbian.^[2] Microbe is from French microbe, coined by Charles Sédillot in 1878, after consulting Littré, from micro- and Ancient Greek βίος (bíos, “life”).^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to microbes: 1879, according to Etymonline.^[5] The OED's first quotation is from 1887, in the Nineteenth Century, for "of, relating to, or caused by microbes".^[2]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed close to its base: what relates to, consists of or is caused by microbes.^[2][3] The 1989 OED records the adverb microbially and the synonym microbian (1883) beside it.^[6] Merriam-Webster lists uses for processes carried out by microbes, and for things developed from them.^[3]

Timeline

• 1879 – of or relating to microbes.^[5] The OED's first quotation is from 1887, for "of, relating to, or caused by microbes".^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of, relating to or caused by microbes or microorganisms: microbial infection.^[2][3]
2. Carried out by or with microbes: the microbial decay of fallen leaves.^[3]

Word family

• antimicrobial

Related words

• microbe
• microbiology

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press