STREPTOCOCCUS

[strep.to.coc.cus] n, pl -coc.ci [NL] (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