nonmicrobial
|non-mi-cro-bi-al|
🇺🇸
/nɑnmaɪˈkroʊbiəl/
🇬🇧
/nɒnmaɪˈkrəʊbɪəl/
not caused by or relating to microbes
Etymology
'nonmicrobial' originates from Modern English, formed by the negative prefix 'non-' plus 'microbial' (from 'microbe' + suffix '-al').
'microbial' comes from 'microbe' (coined in French in the late 19th century from Greek elements 'mikros' meaning 'small' and 'bios' meaning 'life'); 'microbe' entered English from French, then formed the adjective 'microbial'; combining the prefix 'non-' with 'microbial' produced the modern compound 'nonmicrobial'.
Initially 'microbe' referred specifically to microorganisms; 'microbial' meant 'relating to microbes'; 'nonmicrobial' later developed as a straightforward negated form meaning 'not related to or caused by microbes'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not microbial; not caused by, produced by, or related to microbes (microorganisms).
The team concluded the contamination was nonmicrobial and likely resulted from a chemical source.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/11 22:40