Where does “mycobacteria” come from?
Mycobacteria comes from English mycobacterium, from Ancient Greek μυκο- (myko-, fungus) combined with English bacterium, from Ancient Greek βακτήριον, from Ancient Greek βάκτρον (rod or staff), from Proto-Indo-European bak-.
mycobacteria (English): plural of mycobacterium
Definitions
- plural of mycobacterium
Ancestry of “mycobacteria”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | bacteria | plural of bacterium; A type, species, or strain... |
| 2 | New Latin | bacteria | nominative plural of bactērium; accusative plural... |
| 3 | Latin | bacterium | cane, walking-stick; staff (of a shepherd) |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | βακτήριον | Synonym of βακτηρία |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | βακτηρία | rod, staff, cane; baton |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | baḱ- | club, pointed stick, peg; pointed stick, peg |