Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “cyanobacteria” come from?

Cyanobacteria derives from English bacterium and Ancient Greek κυάνεος, combined with Ancient Greek βακτήριον from βάκτρον, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bak-.

cyanobacteria (English): plural of cyanobacterium

Definitions

  1. plural of cyanobacterium

Ancestry of “cyanobacteria”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishcyanobacteriumAny of very many photosynthetic prokaryotic...
2EnglishbacteriumA single celled organism with cell walls but no...
3New Latinbactērium—
4Ancient GreekβακτήριονSynonym of βακτηρία
5Ancient Greekβακτηρίαrod, staff, cane; baton
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbaḱ-club, pointed stick, peg; pointed stick, peg

Words derived from “cyanobacteria”

  • cyanobacterial
  • picocyanobacterial
Every word from Proto-Indo-European baḱ- →