-bacter

American  

1. a combining form with the meaning “rod,” used primarily in biology to form generic names of bacteria.

   aerobacter; arthrobacter.

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Usage

What does -bacter mean? The combining form -bacter is used like a suffix meaning “rod.” It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology to name bacteria.The form -bacter comes from Greek báktron, meaning “stick.” Discover how the word for “stick” came to denote microorganisms at our entry for bacterium.From a related Greek word, baktḗria, which means “staff” or “cane,” English inherits the combining forms bacter-, bacteri-, and bacterio-. Want to learn more? Check out our Words That Use articles for all three forms.Related to both báktron and baktḗria is the Latin noun baculum, “staff,” the source of both the combining form bacill-, which refers to a type of rod-shaped bacteria, and baguette, a rod-shaped loaf of bread.

Etymology

Origin of -bacter

< New Latin, masculine noun coined as variant of neuter bactrum < Greek báktron; bacterium