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Glite Dictionary
Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Neisseria gonorrhoeae

8.6
A type of bacteria that causes gonorrhea, an infection people get during sex
  • noun
  • /naɪˈsɪəriə ˌɡɒnəˈroʊi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Neisseria gonorrhoeae
  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae is responsible for one of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide.

Examples

  • Antibiotic resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae has become a major public health concern.

  • Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the patient's sample.

  • Doctors often test for Neisseria gonorrhoeae in patients with unusual symptoms.

  • The presence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae indicates a gonorrhea infection.

  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae is responsible for one of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide.

  • Antibiotic resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae has become a major public health concern.

  • Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the patient's sample.

Synonyms

gonococcus
vsNeisseria gonorrhoeae
  • Specialized
9.9

A kind of bacteria that causes gonorrhea, an infection spread by sex that produces pus

is the formal species name without mentioning clinical pus production

Surface Forms

Neisseria gonorrhoeae singular
Neisseria gonorrhoeae plural

Morphology

Neisseria + gonorrhoeae

This is a Latin binomial scientific name rather than a compositional English phrase; its meaning (‘a bacterium causing gonorrhea’) depends on specialized biomedical knowledge and on recognizing the Latin species epithet. The element 'gonorrhoeae' is not a productive English morpheme (it’s a Latin/genitive form) so a B1 learner who only knows the listed constituents would not be able to derive the disease-causing meaning.

Etymology

Neisseria gonorrhoeae comes from two parts: Neisseria named for the doctor Albert Neisser, and gonorrhoeae from old Greek words meaning 'seed' and 'flow' because people long ago thought the discharge looked like semen. So the name points to the bacteria that causes a disease with a discharge.