- staphylococcus
- 1887, Mod.L., the genus name, coined (on model of streptococcus) in 1882 by Scottish surgeon and bacteriologist Alexander Ogston (1844-1929), from Gk. staphyle "bunch of grapes" (see staff) + Mod.L. coccus "spherical bacterium," from Gk. kokkos "berry, grain." So called because the bacteria usually bunch together in irregular masses. Colloquial short form staph is attested from 1933.