Other forms: antiseptics
An antiseptic is a liquid that kills germs in a cut. Apply antiseptic, antiseptic cream, an antiseptic wipe.
Lister introduced the idea to surgery in the 1860s and death rates fell sharply, which is one of the clearest before-and-after results in medicine. An antiseptic goes on living tissue where a disinfectant goes on surfaces. The Greek means against rotting.
1nounantisepticA liquid that kills germs in a cut.
“The nurse cleaned the cut on my knee with antiseptic, and it stung.”
antiseptic is a substance.
From anti-, against, plus Greek septikos, causing rot, from sepein, to make rotten.
Ancient Greek
σηπτικός — characterized by putridity
English
septic
English, today
antiseptic
From anti- + septic. septic comes from Ancient Greek σηπτικός (“characterized by putridity”), from σηπτός, from σήπω.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA