— bacterial , adj. — bacterially , adv.
/bak tear"ee euh/ , n.pl., sing. bacterium /-tear"ee euhm/ .
ubiquitous one-celled organisms, spherical, spiral, or rod-shaped and appearing singly or in chains, comprising the Schizomycota, a phylum of the kingdom Monera (in some classification systems the plant class Schizomycetes), various species of which are involved in fermentation, putrefaction, infectious diseases, or nitrogen fixation.
[ 1905-10; baktéria, pl. of BAKTÉRION; see BACTERIUM ]