Where does “bacteria” come from?
Bacteria comes from Ancient Greek βακτηρία, from Ancient Greek βακτήριον, from Ancient Greek βάκτρον meaning "staff" or "rod," from Proto-Indo-European bak-.
bacteria (English): plural of bacterium; A type, species, or strain...
Definitions
- plural of bacterium; A type, species, or strain...
Ancestry of “bacteria”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | New Latin | bacteria | nominative plural of bactērium; accusative plural... |
| 2 | Latin | bacterium | bacterium |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | βακτήριον | Synonym of βακτηρία |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | βακτηρία | rod, staff, cane; baton |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | baḱ- | club, pointed stick, peg; pointed stick, peg |
Words derived from “bacteria”