Etymology

nitrobacterium

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Today it means: Any of the several genera of bacteria in soil that take part in the nitrogen cycle, oxidizing ammonium and organic nitrogen compounds to the more soluble nitrite and nitrate. Full definition →

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

  1. Egyptiannṯr
  2. Egyptiannṯrj
  3. Ancient Greekνῐ́τρον (nĭ́tron)
  4. Englishnitro-
  5. Ancient Greekβακτηρία (baktēría)
  6. Ancient Greekβακτήριον (baktḗrion)
  7. New Latinbactērium
  8. Englishbacterium
  9. English todaynitrobacterium

From nitro- + bacterium.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.