n.
Pronunciation: - ' kä-k ə s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -coc · ci \ - ' kä- ˌ k ī , -( ˌ )k ē ; - ' käk- ˌ s ī , -( ˌ )s ē \
Etymology: New Latin
Date: 1877
: any of a genus ( Streptococcus ) of spherical or ovoid chiefly nonmotile and parasitic gram-positive bacteria that divide only in one plane, occur in pairs or chains, and include important pathogens of humans and domestic animals broadly : a coccus occurring in chains