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Wednesday 25 July 2018

Nuts and Bolts: -cide.

Although very nearly all words ending in -cide involve the death of someone (homicide, matricide, genocide) or something (avicide, acaricide, algicidebarmecide is, fortunately, nothing at all to do with getting rid of silly people.

Undecide is nothing to do with the casting away of lingerie, either.

Just so you know.

Word To Use Today: one ending with -cide. Avicide is the killing of birds, algicide the killing of algae, and acaricide the killing of mites and ticks. Homicide, matricide and genocide describes the killing of humans, mothers, and peoples respectively.

Barmecide entered the English language as a noun in the 1700s. It means imaginary and, therefore, disappointing. BarmakÄ« was a prince in the Arabian Nights tales who gave a beggar a feast on beautiful but empty plates. 




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