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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Streptococcus

Streptococcus \Strep`to*coc"cus\, n.; pl. Streptococci. [NL., fr. Gr. ? pliant, curved + ? a grain, seed.] (Biol.) A long or short chain of micrococci, more or less curved.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
streptococcus

bacteria genus, 1877, Modern Latin, coined by Viennese surgeon Albert Theodor Billroth (1829-1894) from strepto- "twisted" + Modern Latin coccus "spherical bacterium," from Greek kokkos "berry" (see cocco-). So called because the bacteria usually form chains.

Wiktionary
streptococcus

n. A spherical, gram-positive bacterium of the genus ''Streptococcus''. Although commonly found benignly in the human mouth and gut, and though many species are non-pathogenic, other species can cause diseases including strep throat and more serious conditions.

WordNet
streptococcus
  1. n. spherical gram-positive bacteria occurring in pairs or chains; cause e.g. scarlet fever and tonsillitis [syn: streptococci, strep]

  2. [also: streptococci (pl)]

Wikipedia
Streptococcus

Streptococcus is a genus of coccus (spherical) Gram-positive bacteria belonging to the phylum Firmicutes and the order Lactobacillales (lactic acid bacteria). Cell division in this genus occurs along a single axis in these bacteria, thus they grow in chains or pairs, hence the name—from Greek στρεπτός streptos, meaning easily bent or twisted, like a chain (twisted chain). (Contrast this with staphylococci, which divide along multiple axes and generate grape-like clusters of cells.)

Most are oxidase-negative and catalase-negative, and many are facultative anaerobes.

In 1984, many bacteria formerly considered Streptococcus were separated out into the genera Enterococcus and Lactococcus. Currently, over 50 species are recognised in this genus.

Usage examples of "streptococcus".

The source of the infection is a mundane family of bacteria called Group A Streptococcus, which normally do no more than cause strep throat.

According to Williams, all of the children conceived at the original Chrysalis had been expressly endowed with a genetic immunity to all forms of streptococcus, including this particularly virulent strain, but Dhasal did not intend to accept that premise as a given until tested.

But necrotizing streptococcus has its own agenda, its own timetable for killing.

Why should you be more important than a streptococcus or a mosquito, just because you happen to be a little more highly developed from one point of view-your own?

Although clinical trials had not yet even begun, preliminary tests had indicated that Ribomax, a genetically engineered RNA molecule, was effective against a wide range of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, including pathogens of the genera Clostridium, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus.

Every human being carries with him the seeds of infection, from oral bacteria to intestinal flora, and even often streptococci in the hair follicles of the skin.

This was all somehow related to everyday group A beta-hemolytic streptococci and Staphylococcus aureus, which Hammer could not comprehend beyond figuring out that the microscopic bastards were eating her husband alive.