Meaning

noun immunogen consisting of a suspension of weakened or dead pathogenic cells injected in order to stimulate the production of antibodies

originThe noun is probably partly: * derived from vaccine (adjective) (see etymology 1); and * borrowed from French vaccine (“cowpox (short for variole vaccine); vaccination against smallpox using material from cowpox”), vaccin (“cowpox material used for smallpox vaccination”), both noun uses of vaccin (adjective), from Latin vaccīnus (see etymology 1). The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates *…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0