bacteriophage

[bak-teer-ee-uh-feyj] Origin

bac·te·ri·o·phage

[bak-teer-ee-uh-feyj]
noun
any of a group of viruses that infect specific bacteria, usually causing their disintegration or dissolution.
Also called phage.


Origin:
1920–25; < French bactériophage. See bacterio-, -phage

bac·te·ri·o·phag·ic [bak-teer-ee-uh-faj-ik, -fey-jik] , bac·te·ri·oph·a·gous [bak-teer-ee-of-uh-guhs] , adjective
bac·te·ri·oph·a·gy [bak-teer-ee-of-uh-jee] , noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To bacteriophage

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Bacteriophage has a plethora of syllables.
So is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Does it mean:
an obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust, sometimes cited as one of the longest words in the English language.
(used as a nonsense word by children to express approval or to represent the longest word in English.)
Collins
World English Dictionary
bacteriophage (bækˈtɪərɪəˌfeɪdʒ)
 
n
Often shortened to: phage a virus that is parasitic in a bacterium and multiplies within its host, which is destroyed when the new viruses are released
 
bacteriophagic
 
adj
 
bacteriophagous
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

bacteriophage
1921, from Fr. bactériophage (1917), from bacterio-, comb. form of bacteria + -phage (see -phagous).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

bacteriophage bac·te·ri·o·phage (bāk-tēr'ē-ə-fāj')
n.
A virus capbale of infecting and lysing bacterial cells. Also called phage.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
bacteriophage   (bāk-tîr'ē-ə-fāj')  Pronunciation Key 
A virus that infects and destroys bacterial cells.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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