ˌdīəˈlistə(r) noun
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek dia through + hylistēr filter, from hylazein to filter, from hylē mud, dregs; akin to Greek hyein to rain — more at dia- , suck
: a genus of minute gram-negative parasitic strictly anaerobic bacteria (family Bacterioidaceae) growing only in fresh sterile tissue or ascitic fluid, the cells occurring singly, in pairs, or in short chains