Etymologically
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pesticide

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 01:32. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˈpɛstɪˌsaɪd/[1]
  • UK: /ˈpɛstɪsaɪd/, /ˈpɛstəsaɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English pest + -i- + -cide,[2][3][4][5][6][7] on the model of insecticide.[7][8] The first part is from French peste, from Latin pestis (“deadly contagious disease; curse, bane”), a word of uncertain origin.[9] The second is from French -cide, from -cida (“cutter, killer”), from caedō (“to cut, strike down”).[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

A substance for destroying pests, especially insects: 1933, in the Los Angeles Times.[2] Merriam-Webster dates the word to about 1925,[3][10] Dictionary.com to 1935–40,[5] and Barnhart, Etymonline and the 1989 OED to 1939.[7][9][11]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline glosses it as a substance for destroying pests, especially the insects that infest gardens, homes or crops.[9] The OED notes that it is occasionally used of a herbicide as well, and also figuratively.[2][4] The adjective pesticidal followed by 1950.[11][4]

Timeline

  • 1933 – a substance for destroying pests, especially insects.[2]
  • 1950 – the adjective pesticidal.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A chemical or other agent used to kill pests, especially insects and rodents: The orchard was sprayed with pesticide twice each summer.[12][3][13][10]
  2. Occasionally, a herbicide.[2][4]

Word family

  • pesticidal
  • biopesticide
  • pest
  • fungicide
  • germicide
  • herbicide
  • pestilence
  • insecticide
  • homicide

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  7. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  8. ^ Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  9. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  12. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  13. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin