n.
Pronunciation: lis- ˌ tir- ē - ' ō -s ə s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -o · ses \ - ˌ s ē z \
Etymology: New Latin, from Listeria, from Joseph Lister
Date: 1941
: a serious encephalitic disease of a wide variety of animals that is caused by a bacterium ( Listeria monocytogenes ) and that in animals is often fatal but in humans is usually not fatal