bacterium
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents
English[edit]
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Etymology[edit]
From New Latin bactērium, from Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion, “small staff”), from βακτηρία (baktēría).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
bacterium (plural bacteria)
- (microbiology) A single celled organism with cell walls but no nucleus or organelles.
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2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
- Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.
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Usage notes[edit]
- In most formal writing, bacterium is the singular form of the noun, and bacteria the plural form. This is in accord with the word's Latin etymology. However, in ordinary speech, some speakers use bacteria as a singular, with plural either bacteria or bacterias. This is usually considered incorrect.
Hyponyms[edit]
- See also Wikisaurus:bacterium
Hypernyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
single celled organism with no nucleus or organelles
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Further reading[edit]
See also[edit]
Latin[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion, “small staff”), from βακτηρία (baktēría).
Noun[edit]
bactērium n (genitive bactēriī); second declension
- (microbiology) bacterium
Inflection[edit]
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | bactērium | bactēria |
| genitive | bactēriī | bactēriōrum |
| dative | bactēriō | bactēriīs |
| accusative | bactērium | bactēria |
| ablative | bactēriō | bactēriīs |
| vocative | bactērium | bactēria |
References[edit]
- du Cange, Charles (1883), “bacterium”, in G. A. Louis Henschel, Pierre Carpentier, Léopold Favre, editors, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (in Latin), Niort: L. Favre
Categories:
- English terms derived from New Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Microbiology
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- Latin 4-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Latin lemmas
- Latin nouns
- Latin neuter nouns
- Latin second declension nouns
- Latin neuter nouns in the second declension
- la:Microbiology
