microbial
Pronunciation
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
- Of, relating to or caused by microbes or microorganisms: microbial infection.[2][3]
- Carried out by or with microbes: the microbial decay of fallen leaves.[3]
Word family
- antimicrobial
Related words
- microbe
- microbiology
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
- ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press