nonantimicrobial
|non-an-ti-micro-bi-al|
🇺🇸
/ˌnɑnˌæn.ti.maɪˈkroʊ.bi.əl/
🇬🇧
/ˌnɒnˌæn.ti.maɪˈkrəʊ.bi.əl/
not killing or inhibiting microbes
Etymology
'nonantimicrobial' originates from English, specifically from the prefix 'non-' and the word 'antimicrobial', where 'non-' meant 'not' and 'anti-' (in 'antimicrobial') meant 'against' while 'microbial' traces to 'microbe' meaning 'small life'.
'nonantimicrobial' formed in modern English by prefixing 'non-' to 'antimicrobial'. The element 'antimicrobial' derives from Greek elements via New Latin and French: Greek 'anti-' ('against') + 'micro-' from Greek 'mikros' ('small') and 'bios' ('life'), which produced terms like French 'microbe' and later English 'microbe'/'microbial'.
Initially the components conveyed 'not' + 'against small life', and the combined modern term has the straightforward meaning 'not exhibiting antimicrobial activity'; the basic sense has remained direct and compositional.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not antimicrobial; lacking antimicrobial properties or activity (does not kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms).
The laboratory found that the surface coating was nonantimicrobial, allowing bacterial films to form.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/05 16:32