bacteria English · revision 7036

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1847|origins=grc βακτήριον}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bakˈtɪə̯.ri.ə/ ''(UK)''; /bækˈtɪɹ.i.ə/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the New Latin plural of [[bacterium]], prompted by French bactérie (1842),^(Barnhart 1988) from [[grc|βακτήριον|tr=baktḗrion|t=small staff]], a diminutive of [[m|grc|βακτηρία|tr=baktēría|t=staff, cane]] or báktron, stick,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) so called because the first ones observed were rod-shaped.^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) The Greek word is from PIE *bak-, staff, also the source of Latin [[m|la|baculum|t=walking stick]];^(Etymonline) De Vaan suggests a loanword from an unidentified source.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Single-celled microorganisms: 1847 in Etymonline, 1847–49 in Barnhart;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) MWU dates it to 1864.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was introduced as a scientific word by the German naturalist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1838.^(Etymonline) Bacteria are now classed as a separate group of prokaryotic organisms lacking a nucleus.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1838 – coined in German use.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1842 – French bactérie.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1847 – in English.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(plural of bacterium)'' Single-celled [[microorganism|alt=microorganisms]] without a distinct [[nucleus]], some of which cause [[disease]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==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]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) Etymonline notes that the classical plural is sometimes wrongly used as a singular.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}