Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Bacteria
Microscopic single-celled organisms.
The Greek roots
βακτήριον
baktḗrion
little staff
Literally: “little rods”
Follow a root:βακτήριον1 word
The story of the word
The first ones seen under a microscope looked like tiny staffs or rods, so they were named 'little sticks'.
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
In a sentence
Most bacteria in the gut are harmless or helpful.