archaebacteria

American  

[ahr-kee-bak-teer-ee-uh] / ˌɑr ki bækˈtɪər i ə /

Also archaeobacteria

plural noun

Microbiology.

SINGULAR

archaebacterium

1. a former term for the archaea, which in the three-domain system are no longer classified, either in kingdom or domain, with the bacteria.

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archaebacteria British  

/ ˌɑːkɪbækˈtɪərɪə /

plural noun

1. (formerly) a group of microorganisms now regarded as members of the Archaea See archaean

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Etymology

Origin of archaebacteria

First recorded in 1975–80; from New Latin; Archae- is irregular for archaeo- (perhaps an erroneous Latinizing of Greek arche- ); arche-, archaeo-, bacteria

Example Sentences

The phylogenetic evidence suggests that the archaebacteria are at least as old as the other major groups.

From Scientific American

Moreover, some of the archaebacteria have a form of metabolism that seems particularly well suited to the conditions believed to have prevailed in the early history of life on the earth.

From Scientific American

The supposed great antiquity of the archaebacteria remains an unproved prejudice, but it is a plausible one.

From Scientific American

The name archaebacteria implies that these organisms were the dominant ones in the primeval biosphere.

From Scientific American

They revealed nothing about the quality of the differences—the phenotypic differ­ences—between the archaebacteria and the true bacteria.

From Scientific American