Main Entry: rick·ett·sia

Pronunciation: \ri-ˈket-sē-ə\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural rick·ett·si·as or rick·ett·si·ae \-sē-ˌē, -ˌī\ also rick·ett·sia

Etymology: New Latin, genus name, from Howard T. Ricketts †1910 American pathologist

Date: 1919

: any of a family (Rickettsiaceae) of rod-shaped, coccoid, or diplococcus-shaped, often pleomorphic gram-negative bacteria that are intracellular parasites of arthropods (as lice or ticks) and when transmitted to humans cause various diseases (as typhus)

— rick·ett·si·al \-sē-əl\ adjective