'bacteria-free' originates from the combination of 'bacteria' and the suffix '-free', where 'bacteria' refers to microscopic organisms and '-free' indicates absence.

'bacteria' comes from the Latin word 'bacterium', which was derived from the Greek word 'bakterion', meaning 'small staff'. The suffix '-free' is used in English to denote absence or lack of something.

Initially, 'bacteria-free' meant 'without bacteria', and this meaning has remained consistent in modern usage.