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family Enterobacteriaceae

family Enterobacteriaceae

8.5
A large group of bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella that can cause infections
  • noun
  • /ˈfæmɪli ˌɛntərəˌbɛrkiˈeɪsiˌi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : familia Enterobacteriaceae
  • The family Enterobacteriaceae includes several bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses.

Examples

  • Many pathogens in the family Enterobacteriaceae are resistant to multiple antibiotics.

  • Medical students learn to identify members of the family Enterobacteriaceae in laboratory classes.

  • The family Enterobacteriaceae includes many harmful bacteria.

  • Many members of the family Enterobacteriaceae are known pathogens.

  • Many pathogens in the family Enterobacteriaceae are resistant to multiple antibiotics.

  • Medical students learn to identify members of the family Enterobacteriaceae in laboratory classes.

  • The family Enterobacteriaceae includes several bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses.

Synonyms

Enterobacteriaceae
vsfamily Enterobacteriaceae
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A family of bacteria like E. coli or Salmonella that often live in the intestines and cause infections

is the exact scientific name for that same bacterial group
enterobacteria
vsfamily Enterobacteriaceae
  • Specialized
7.8

Bacteria with a long thin shape that live in the gut of people and animals, some cause infections

is broader, naming the whole taxonomic group rather than just gut-associated types
enteric bacteria
vsfamily Enterobacteriaceae
  • Specialized
5.9

Small germs that live in the intestines and often help digestion or sometimes cause infections

is the more general formal term for the larger bacterial group including these types
enterics
vsfamily Enterobacteriaceae
  • Specialized
9.4

Bacteria shaped like rods that live in the gut and sometimes cause illness

is the formal name for the same organisms within a defined taxonomic grouping

Surface Forms

Morphology

family + Enterobacteriaceae

The phrase is transparently compositional: 'family' denotes a taxonomic grouping and combined with the proper taxon name 'Enterobacteriaceae' simply means the family called Enterobacteriaceae. Although the taxon name is specialized, the syntactic and semantic pattern (family + name = the named group) is regular and thus understandable to a learner who knows the constituents.

Etymology

Family Enterobacteriaceae comes from parts Entero-, which means 'intestine', and -bacter, which means 'small rod', plus -aceae which marks a 'family', so think of tiny rod-shaped bacteria in the gut. That's why the term means a group of gut bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella.