different between bacteria vs bacilli

English

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /bæk?t??.i.?/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /bæk?t???.?.?/
• Rhymes: -??i?
• Rhymes: -???i?

Etymology 1

From New Latin bacteria, plural of bacterium, from Ancient Greek ????????? (bakt?rion), neuter diminutive of ???????? (bakt?ría, “rod, stick”) (cognate with English peg).

Noun

bacteria

1. plural of bacterium

bacteria (plural bacterias)

1. (US) A type, species, or strain of bacterium.
2. (US, proscribed) Alternative form of bacterium.
3. (derogatory, slang) A derisive term for a lowlife or a slob (could be treated as plural or singular).

Usage notes

• This is the plural form of the word. While it is often used as if it were singular (as a collective noun), this is considered nonstandard by some in the US and more elsewhere. See the usage examples under bacterium.

Derived terms

• Bacteria
• Eubacteria
• Archaebacteria / Archebacteria
• eubacteria
• archaebacteria / archebacteria

Translations

see also under bacterium

See also

• culture (collective noun)

Etymology 2

From New Latin bacteria, from Ancient Greek ???????? (bakt?ría, “rod, stick”).

Noun

bacteria (plural bacteriae)

1. (dated, medicine) An oval bacterium, as distinguished from a spherical coccus or rod-shaped bacillus.

Anagrams

• Arabetic, race-bait

Galician

Noun

bacteria f (plural bacterias)

1. bacterium

Latin

Noun

bact?ria

1. nominative plural of bact?rium
2. accusative plural of bact?rium
3. vocative plural of bact?rium

Spanish

Etymology

From New Latin bacteria, plural of bact?rium, from Ancient Greek ????????? (bakt?rion).

Noun

bacteria f (plural bacterias)

1. bacterium

Derived terms

• antibacteria
• bacterial
• bacteriano

Further reading

• “bacteria” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Noun

bacilli

1. plural of bacillus
   • 1974, Graham Greene, The Honorary Consul, Pocket Books, New York, p. 94:

     One lie in the presence of a policeman seemed to multiply like bacilli.

Italian

Noun

bacilli m

1. plural of bacillo

Latin

Noun

bacill?

1. nominative plural of bacillus
2. genitive singular of bacillus
3. vocative plural of bacillus