spirochetic

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spi⋅ro⋅chete

[spahy-ruh-keet]

–noun

any of various spiral-shaped motile bacteria of the family Spirochaetaceae, certain species, as Treponema, Leptospira, and Borrelia, being pathogenic to humans and other animals, and other species being free-living, saprophytic, or parasitic.

Also, spi⋅ro⋅chaete.

Origin:
1875–80; < NL spīrochaeta. See spiro- ² , chaeta-

Related forms:

spi⋅ro⋅chet⋅al, spi⋅ro⋅che⋅tic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

spirochete

1877, from Mod.L. Spirochæta, the genus name, from spiro- Mod.L. comb. form of Gk. speira "a coil" (see spiral) + Gk. chaite "hair."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: spi·ro·chete
Variant: or chiefly British spi·ro·chaete /'spI-r&-"kEt/
Function: noun
: anybacterium of the order Spirochaetales including those causing syphilis and relapsing fever

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

spirochete spi·ro·chete (spī'rə-kēt')
n.
Any of various slender, spiral, motile bacteria of the order Spirochaetales, many of which are pathogenic, causing syphilis, relapsing fever, yaws, and other diseases.

Science Dictionary

spirochete (spī'rə-kēt') Pronunciation Key
Any of various bacteria of the order Spirochaetales that are shaped like a spiral, such as Treponema pallidum, the pathogen that causes syphilis.

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