The term "antibiotic" (from the Greek αντι – anti, "against" + βιοτικδς – biotikos, "fit for life" was coined by Selman Waksman in 1942 to describe any substance produced by a micro-organism that is antagonistic to the growth of other micro-organisms in high dilution. This original definition excluded naturally occurring substances, such as gastric juice and hydrogen peroxide (they kill micro-organisms but are not produced by micro-organisms), and also excluded synthetic compounds such as the sulfonamides (which are antimicrobial agents).
Antibiotics can be classified as either bactericidal or bacteriostatic. Bactericidals kill bacteria directly where bacteriostatics prevent them from dividing. - modified from wikipedia
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