Etymology Explorer › Latin

Where does “bacteria” come from?

bacteria (Latin) comes from Ancient Greek βακτήριον, from Ancient Greek βακτηρία, from Proto-Indo-European baḱ- — club, pointed stick, peg; pointed stick, peg.

bacteria (Latin): nominative plural of bactērium; accusative plural...

Definitions

  1. nominative plural of bactērium; accusative plural...

Ancestry of “bacteria”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient GreekβακτήριονSynonym of βακτηρία
2Ancient Greekβακτηρίαrod, staff, cane; baton
3Proto-Indo-Europeanbaḱ-club, pointed stick, peg; pointed stick, peg

Words derived from “bacteria”

  • bacteria
  • bacterial
  • antibacterial
  • mycobacteria
  • mycobacterial
  • bacteriuria
  • bacterially
  • nonbacterial
  • archaebacteria
  • antimycobacterial
  • enterobacterial
  • archaebacterium
  • archaebacterial
  • abacterial
  • bacteriosis
  • rhizobacterial
  • agrobacterial
  • bacterization
  • interbacterial
  • dysbacteriosis
  • nonantibacterial
  • nanobacterial
  • microbacterial
  • antibacterially
Every word from Proto-Indo-European baḱ- →