Meanings
plural legionellas · plural legionellae
- countableuncountableBacteria of the genus Legionella.
1 more example
Thameslink Train Services Director Rob Mullen responded: "A very low level of legionella was found during testing in a small number of our Class 700 train toilets. While it is extremely unlikely this would cause any harm, the toilets were immediately locked out of use. The trains were taken out of service and these toilets have now been drained, bleached and had their tanks completely re-filled. There is no recorded case of anyone, ever, having contracted legionella from a train."
2021 September 8, “RMT strike threat over legionella on Thameslink trains”, in RAIL, number 939, page 18
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe motile aerobic rod-shaped Gram-negative bacterium that thrives in central heating and air conditioning systems and can cause Legionnaires' disease
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinlegio
- Englishlegionella
From legion + translingual -ella, from Latin legio. Constructed from American Legion, after an outbreak of a then-unknown "mystery disease" (Legionnaires' disease) at a convention of the American Legion in Philadelphia in 1976.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
legionella. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/legionella
“legionella.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/legionella. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “legionella,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/legionella.
Source: legionella on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.