bacillus
|ba-sil-lus|
/bəˈsɪləs/
rod-shaped bacteria
Etymology
'bacillus' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'bacillus', a diminutive of 'baculum' meaning 'stick' or 'staff'.
'bacillus' was used in Neo-Latin and scientific Latin to denote a 'little rod' and was adopted into modern English scientific vocabulary as 'bacillus'.
Initially, it meant 'little stick' or 'little staff' (physical object), but over time it evolved to mean 'rod-shaped bacterium' in scientific usage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a bacterium of the genus Bacillus (capitalized when referring to the genus).
Researchers isolated a new bacillus from the soil sample.
Synonyms
Noun 2
any rod-shaped bacterium (used in a general, non-taxonomic sense).
Under the microscope, the organisms appeared as long bacilli.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/25 07:49