lactobacillus

[lak-toh-buh-sil-uhs]

noun

Bacteriology.

plural

lactobacilli 

1. any long, slender, rod-shaped, anaerobic bacterium of the genus Lactobacillus, that produces large amounts of lactic acid in the fermentation of carbohydrates, especially in milk.

lactobacillus

/ ˌlæktəʊbəˈsɪləs /

noun

1. any Gram-positive rod-shaped bacterium of the genus Lactobacillus , which ferments carbohydrates to lactic acid, for example in the souring of milk: family Lactobacillaceae

Word History and Origins

Origin of lactobacillus¹

< New Latin (1901); lacto-, bacillus