'amoebacide' originates from 'New Latin', specifically the word 'amoeba' meaning 'change' or 'transformation' and the suffix '-cide' from Latin 'caedere' meaning 'to kill'.

'amoebacide' was formed in modern scientific English by combining 'amoeba' and '-cide', following the pattern of other words like 'pesticide' and 'germicide'.

Initially, it meant 'a substance that kills amoebas', and this meaning has remained unchanged in modern usage.