shigella

[ shi-gel-uh ]

/ ʃɪˈgɛl ə /

noun, plural shi·gel·lae [shi-gel-ee] /ʃɪˈgɛl i/, shi·gel·las. Bacteriology.

any of several rod-shaped aerobic bacteria of the genus Shigella, certain species of which are pathogenic for humans and other warm-blooded animals.

Nearby words

shifting spanner, shiftless, shiftwork, shifty, shiga-kruse bacillus, shigella, shigella boydii, shigella dysenteriae, shigella flexneri, shigella sonnei, shigellosis

Origin of shigella

< New Latin (1918), after Kiyoshi Shiga (1870–1957), Japanese scientist; see -ella

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for shigella

shigella

/ (ʃɪˈɡɛlə) /

noun

any rod-shaped Gram-negative bacterium of the genus Shigella; some species cause dysentery

Word Origin for shigella

C20: named after K. Shiga (1870–1957), Japanese bacteriologist, who discovered it

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for shigella

Shigella

[ shĭ-gĕl′ə ]

n.

A genus of gram-negative, aerobic, nonmotile, rod-shaped bacteria that includes some species that cause dysentery in humans.