peritrichous
|per-i-trich-ous|
🇺🇸
/ˌpɛrəˈtrɪkəs/
🇬🇧
/ˌpɛrɪˈtrɪkəs/
hair/flagella all around
Etymology
'peritrichous' originates from Greek, specifically the prefix 'peri-' meaning 'around' and the root 'thrix' (genitive 'trichos') meaning 'hair', combined with the English adjectival suffix '-ous'.
'peritrichous' was formed in New Latin/Neo-Latin from Greek elements ('peri-' + 'trich-') as 'peritrichus' or similar scholarly coinages and entered modern English scientific usage to describe organisms with hair- or flagellum-like structures all around.
Initially constructed to mean 'having hair all around' (a literal combination of the Greek elements), it came to be used specifically in biology to mean 'having cilia or flagella distributed around a cell or body', especially for bacteria and certain protozoa.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
having flagella or hairlike appendages distributed over the entire surface (used especially of certain bacteria).
Many peritrichous bacteria move by rotating their numerous flagella distributed around the cell surface.
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Adjective 2
having a ring or band of cilia around a particular region (used for some protozoa, e.g., peritrich ciliates).
Peritrichous protozoans often show a band of cilia around the oral region used in feeding.
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Last updated: 2025/09/17 14:10