Etymology

subbacterial

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Today it means: smaller than a bacterium Full definition →

English bacterial ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? ← New Latin bactēria
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*upó
  2. Proto-Italic*supo
  3. Latinsub
  4. Latinsub-
  5. Englishsub-
  6. Ancient Greekβακτηρία (baktēría)
  7. Ancient Greekβακτήριον (baktḗrion)
  8. New Latinbactēria
  9. Englishbacteria
  10. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  12. Englishbacterial
  13. English todaysubbacterial

From sub- + bacterial.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.