bacteria
Pronunciation
- IPA: /bakˈtɪə̯.ri.ə/ (UK); /bækˈtɪɹ.i.ə/ (US)[1]
Etymology
It is the New Latin plural of bacterium, prompted by French bactérie (1842),[2] from Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion, “small staff”), a diminutive of βακτηρία (baktēría, “staff, cane”) or báktron, stick,[2][3][4] so called because the first ones observed were rod-shaped.[3][4] The Greek word is from PIE *bak-, staff, also the source of Latin baculum (“walking stick”);[3] De Vaan suggests a loanword from an unidentified source.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Single-celled microorganisms: 1847 in Etymonline, 1847–49 in Barnhart;[3][2] MWU dates it to 1864.[5]
Semantic evolution
It was introduced as a scientific word by the German naturalist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1838.[3] Bacteria are now classed as a separate group of prokaryotic organisms lacking a nucleus.[6][7]
Timeline
Modern meaning
Noun
- (plural of bacterium) Single-celled microorganisms without a distinct nucleus, some of which cause disease.
Word family
- bacterial
- bacterially
- bacterin
- bacterize
- bacteriuria
- Eubacteria
- archaebacteria
Related words
- bacterium
- bacillus
- bacteriology
- imbecile
Usage notes
Bacteria is the plural; the singular is bacterium.[6][7] Etymonline notes that the classical plural is sometimes wrongly used as a singular.[3]
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins