Etymology

bacterium

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Today it means: A single-celled organism with cell walls but no nucleus or organelles. Full definition →

New Latin bactērium ← Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion)
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The story

  1. Ancient Greekβακτηρία (baktēría)
  2. Ancient Greekβακτήριον (baktḗrion)
  3. New Latinbactērium
  4. English todaybacterium

From New Latin bactērium, from Ancient Greek βακτήριον (baktḗrion, “small staff”), from βακτηρία (baktēría).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.