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Glite Dictionary
penicillin O

penicillin O

4.6
A medicine made by some mould that kills bacteria and is like penicillin G
  • noun
  • /ˌpɛnɪˈsɪlɪn oʊ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : penicilina O
  • New research suggests that penicillin O may be effective against certain bacteria resistant to other antibiotics.

Examples

  • In clinical trials, penicillin O demonstrated a similar efficacy as penicillin G against various strains of bacteria.

  • The doctor prescribed penicillin O for the infection.

  • Laboratories often use penicillin O in comparative studies of antibiotic activity.

  • The patient was treated with penicillin O due to an allergy to penicillin G.

  • Many patients respond well to penicillin O treatment.

  • The doctor prescribed penicillin O to treat the bacterial infection effectively.

  • Many patients have seen improvements in their health after receiving penicillin O for their infections.

Surface Forms

penicillin O singular
penicillins O plural

Morphology

penicillin + O

A B1 learner who knows 'penicillin' and the letter 'O' can reasonably infer that 'penicillin O' names a particular type or variant of penicillin (letters and numbers commonly mark subtypes), so the general category is transparent. However, the precise pharmacological properties and the production differences signalled by 'O' are technical and not predictable from the constituents alone, making the expression only partially transparent.

Etymology

Penicillin O comes from the mold Penicillium, whose tiny, brush-like spore clusters gave the medicine its name penicillin. Scientists add letters like O to show different versions, so penicillin O means 'a particular type of penicillin'.