Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - antiseptic

 I. adjective  Etymology: anti- + Greek septikos putrefying, septic  Date: 1751  1.  a. opposing sepsis, putrefaction, or decay; especially preventing or arresting the growth of microorganisms (as on living tissue)  b. acting or protecting like an ~  2. relating to or characterized by the use of ~s  3.  a. scrupulously clean ; aseptic  b. extremely neat or orderly; especially neat to the point of being bare or uninteresting  c. free from what is held to be contaminating  4.  a. coldly impersonal an ~ greeting  b. of, relating to, or being warfare conducted with cold precision from a safe distance with few or no casualties on one's side ~ bombings  • ~ally adverb  II. noun  Date: 1751 a substance that inhibits the growth or action of microorganisms especially in or on living tissue; also germicide