bacterium

From New Latin bactērium, from Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion, “small staff”), from βακτηρία (baktēría).

• IPA^(key): /bækˈtɪəɹ.ɪəm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪəɹiəm

bacterium (plural bacteria or (uncommon, possibly nonstandard) bacteriums)

1. (microbiology) A single-celled organism with cell walls but no nucleus or organelles.
   • 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist‎^[1], volume 408, number 8845, archived from the original on 14 August 2020:

     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.

• 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 nonstandard.

• See also Thesaurus:bacterium

• bacterium on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• bacillus

• (cane or staff): bactērius m

From Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion, “small staff”), from βακτηρία (baktēría).

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [bakˈteː.ri.ũː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [bakˈtɛː.ri.um]

bactērium n (genitive bactēriī); second declension

1. (Late Latin, Medieval Latin) cane, walking-stick; staff (of a shepherd)
2. (New Latin, microbiology) bacterium

Second-declension noun (neuter).

• → English: bacterium

• "bacterium", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “bacterium”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• bacterium in Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1967– ), Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch, Munich: C.H. Beck
• Niermeyer, Jan Frederik (1976), “bacterius”, in Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden, Boston: E. J. Brill, page 76