ˌeshəˈrikēə noun
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Theodor Escherich died 1911 German physician + New Latin -ia
: a genus of aerobic gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria (family Enterobacteriaceae) that form acid and gas on many carbohydrates (as dextrose and lactose) but no acetoin and that include forms (as members of the type species E. coli ) normally present in the human or other vertebrate intestines which are occasionally pathogenic and indicative of fecal contamination when found in water and other forms which typically occur in soil and water