| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| bacterium |
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| SYLLABICATION: | bac·te·ri·um |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  b k-tîr  - m |
| NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. bac·te·ri·a (-tîr-)
Any of the unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms of the class Schizomycetes, which vary in terms of morphology, oxygen and nutritional requirements, and motility, and may be free-living, saprophytic, or pathogenic in plants or animals. | | ETYMOLOGY: | New Latin bactrium, from Greek baktrion, diminutive of baktron, rod. See bak- in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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