spirillum

[ spahy-ril-uhm ]

/ spaɪˈrɪl əm /

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noun, plural spi·ril·la

[spahy-ril-uh]. /spaɪˈrɪl ə/. Bacteriology.

any of several spirally twisted, aerobic bacteria of the genus Spirillum, certain species of which are pathogenic for humans.

any of various similar microorganisms.

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Origin of spirillum

1870–75; <New Latin, equivalent to Latin spīr(a) (see spire²) + -illum diminutive suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM spirillum

spi·ril·lar, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use spirillum in a sentence

The same takes place with the spirilla of recurrent typhus and the microbe of erysipelas.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, January 1900|Various
Each spirilla is animated by the life-force of a plane, and four are at present normally active, one for each round.
Occult Chemistry|Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater
Thus we recognise those that are globular—cocci; those that resemble a rod—bacilli; the spiral or wavy forms—spirilla.
Manual of Surgery|Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles
Spirilla are long, slender, thread-like cells, more or less spiral or wavy.
Manual of Surgery|Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles

Often these filaments are not straight, but spirally twisted, and are called "spirilla."
More Science From an Easy Chair|Sir E. Ray (Edwin Ray) Lankester

British Dictionary definitions for spirillum

spirillum

/ (spaɪˈrɪləm) /

noun plural -la (-lə)

any bacterium having a curved or spirally twisted rodlike bodyCompare coccus (def. 1), bacillus (def. 1)

any bacterium of the genus Spirillum, such as S. minus, which causes ratbite fever

Derived forms of spirillum

spirillar, adjective

Word Origin for spirillum

C19: from New Latin, literally: a little coil, from spīra a coil

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

Scientific definitions for spirillum

spirillum

[ spī-rĭl′əm ]

Plural spirilla

Any of various bacteria that are shaped like a spiral, such as the spirochete Treponema pallidum, which causes syphilis.