Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

rickettsia

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.73 in modern English

Syllables
rick-ettsia
IPA
16
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of a group of gram-negative bacteria, of the genus Rickettsia, carried as parasites by ticks, fleas and lice, that cause typhus and other diseases.

noun

Any bacterium of the order Rickettsiales.

Informal

Etymology

Borrowed from translingual Rickettsia (genus name), from Howard Taylor Ricketts, equivalent to Ricketts + -ia.

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

rickettsias (plural) rickettsiae (plural)

Derived Forms

rickettsemia rickettsial rickettsialpox rickettsiemia rickettsiology

Frequently Paired Words

Rickettsia Rickettsieae Rickettsiaceae Rickettsiales

Questions

What does rickettsia mean?
Any of a group of gram-negative bacteria, of the genus Rickettsia, carried as parasites by ticks, fleas and lice, that cause typhus and other diseases.
Where does rickettsia come from?
Borrowed from translingual Rickettsia (genus name), from Howard Taylor Ricketts, equivalent to Ricketts + -ia.

How to pronounce rickettsia

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