View synonyms for chlamydia

chlamydia

[ kluh-mid-ee-uh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, plural chla·myd·i·ae [kl, uh, -, mid, -ee-ee].

Microbiology. any coccoid rickettsia of the genus Chlamydia, parasitic in birds and mammals, including humans, and causing various infections, especially of the eyes, as trachoma, lungs, as psittacosis, and genitourinary tract, as urethritis or chlamydia.
Pathology. Also called lym·pho·gran·u·lo·ma ve·ne·re·um [lim-f, uh, -gran-y, uh, -, loh, -m, uh, v, uh, -, neer, -ee-, uh, m]. a widespread, often asymptomatic sexually transmitted disease caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, a major cause of nongonococcal urethritis in men and pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy in women.

chlamydia

/ kləˈmɪdɪə /

noun

any Gram-negative bacteria of the genus Chlamydia , which are obligate intracellular parasites and are responsible for such diseases as trachoma, psittacosis, and some sexually transmitted diseases

chlamydia

/ klə-mĭd′ē-ə /

, Plural chlamydiae klə-mĭd′ē-ē′

Any of various bacteria of the genus Chlamydia, several species of which cause common infections in humans and animals, including neonatal conjunctivitis, pneumonia, bronchitis, pharyngitis, and sexually transmitted infections of the pelvis and urethra.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of chlamydia¹

First recorded in 1945 in an article by Helen Jones, Geoffrey Rake, and Barbara Stearns as the proposed name of a taxon; 1966 in the current sense; from New Latin, from Greek chlamyd- (stem of chlamýs chlamys ) + New Latin -ia -ia