GC: n

S: NCBI – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26965627/ (last access: 14 April 2024); Caister – https://www.caister.com/highveld/microbiology/what-is-a-bacterium.html (last access: 14 April 2024).

N: 1. bacterium (n): c. 1848, singular of bacteria (q.v.); bacteria (n): “unicellular microorganisms which lack an organized nucleus,” and sometimes cause disease, 1847, plural of Modern Latin bacterium, from Greek bakterion “small staff,” diminutive of baktron “stick, rod,” from PIE *bak– “staff used for support” (also source of Latin baculum “rod, walking stick”). So called because the first ones observed were rod-shaped. Introduced as a scientific word 1838 by German naturalist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (1795-1876).

2. bacterium (n): Any one of a group of very small living things that often cause disease — usually plural (bacteria). Example: Keep the wound clean and dry to prevent the growth of bacteria.
Adjective: bacterial.

3. bacterium (n): [A] unicellular prokaryotic [micro-organism] that commonly [multiplies] by cell division (fission) and whose cell is typically contained within a cell wall. Plural: bacteria.

4. They may be aerobic or anaerobic, motile or non-motile, and may be free-living, saprophytic, parasitic, or even pathogenic, the last causing disease in [humans,] plants or animals.

5. Examples of diseases caused by bacteria include anthrax, botulism, plague, tularemia, brucellosis, cholera, glanders and psittacosis, which can also potentially be used as biological weapons by terrorists.

6. Cultural Interrelation: We can mentio the movie Bacterium (2006) directed by Brett Piper.

S: 1. OED – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=bacterium, https://www.etymonline.com/word/bacteria (last access: 14 April 2024). 2. EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/bacterium (last access: 14 April 2024). 3 to 5. TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=bacterium&index=alt&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 14 April 2024). 6. IMDB – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0835419/ (last access: 23 June 2016).

SYN:
S:

CR: anthrax, antibiotic, antifungal, bacillus, bacteriophage, Bifidobacterium bifidum, biodegradation, bioterrorism, botulism, brucellosis, cholera, coccus, diphtheria, fungus, gonorrhea, Gram-negative bacterium, Gram-positive bacterium, Gram stain, Helicobacter pylori, klebsiella, microorganism, parasite, pathogen, pathogenic, penicillin, parotitis, plague, probiotic, pseudomonas, pyelonephritis, salmonella, salmonellosis, strain, streptomycin, stye, trachoma, triple vaccine, tuberculosis, tularemia, urobilinogen, virus, Whipple’s disease, zoonosis.