coccus
9.3
A small round type of bacteria that looks like a tiny ball
- noun
- /ˈkɑkəs/
- Specialized
:
coco
- The coccus bacterium is commonly found in various environments, including soil and water.
Examples
-
The scientist discovered a new strain of coccus bacteria in the lab.
-
This procedure provided information on isolates concerning purity and gram morphology (positive or negative, rod or coccus).
Academic text (1993) -
He found the coccus in this milk, and I found it abundant in the blood of the same goat" (Zammit to Bruce, June 30, 1905).
Academic text (2000) -
Microscopes can help identify different shapes of bacteria, such as coccus, bacillus, and spiral.
Synonyms
2
7.9
Round bacteria that often form groups and appear under a microscope
is a single spherical bacterium rather than a plural shape category
Compounds
How Spherical
Surface Forms
Etymology
Coccus comes from the Greek word kokkos, which means 'berry'. So a coccus is a round, 'berry-like' bacterium, and you can see the same root in names like Streptococcus.