Etymology
Advertisement

streptococcus (n.)

bacteria genus, 1877, Modern Latin, coined by Viennese surgeon Albert Theodor Billroth (1829-1894) from strepto- "twisted" + Modern Latin coccus "spherical bacterium," from Greek kokkos "berry" (see cocco-). So called because the bacteria usually form chains.

Entries linking to streptococcus

strepto- 
word-forming element used in science to mean "twisted," from Latinized combining form of Greek streptos "twisted, easy to bend, pliant," verbal adjective of strephein "to turn, twist," from PIE root *streb(h)- "to wind, turn."
cocco- 
word-forming element meaning "berry, seed," or something shaped like them, from Latinized form of Greek kokkos "a grain, a seed," especially "kermes-berry, gall of the kermes oak" (actually an insect), which yields scarlet dye, a word of unknown origin, perhaps from a non-Greek source.

Others are reading

Advertisement
Advertisement
Definitions of streptococcus

streptococcus (n.)
spherical Gram-positive bacteria occurring in pairs or chains; cause e.g. scarlet fever and tonsillitis;
Synonyms: streptococci / strep
From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near streptococcus

strengthen

strenuous

strep

Strephon

strepto-

streptococcus

streptomycin

stress

stressful

stressor

stretch

© 2001-2022 Douglas Harper