C. psittaci

9.9

A type of bacteria that causes infections in birds and can also infect people

noun
/siː piː ˈsɪtəˌsi/

Specialized

: C. psittaci

The veterinarian diagnosed the parrot with an infection caused by C. psittaci.

Examples

The bacteria C. psittaci is known to cause respiratory infections.
Researchers are studying how C. psittaci can be transmitted between birds and humans.
Antibiotics are used to treat diseases caused by C. psittaci in humans.
Can C. psittaci be transmitted from birds to humans?
Antibiotics are used to treat diseases caused by C. psittaci in humans.
The veterinarian diagnosed the parrot with an infection caused by C. psittaci.
Researchers are studying how C. psittaci can be transmitted between birds and humans.

Synonyms

Chlamydia psittaci

vsC. psittaci

Specialized

9.1

A kind of bacteria that makes birds sick and can infect people, often from pet birds

is the same species but written in abbreviated scientific form

Surface Forms

C. psittaci singular

C. psittaci plural

Morphology

C. + psittaci

This is a scientific binomial name consisting of an initial/abbreviation and a Latinized species epithet that are not ordinary English words, so a B1 learner who 'knows' the constituents would not be able to derive 'a bacterium that causes infections' from them. Binomial nomenclature is arbitrary and language-specific (not compositional), so the meaning is unpredictable without prior exposure or specialist knowledge.

Etymology

C. psittaci gets its name from two parts: C. is short for 'Chlamydia' and psittaci comes from an old Greek word for 'parrot' because the germ was first found in parrots and other birds. So the name shows it is a germ that can cause 'infections' in birds and people.