Main Entry: strep·to·coc·cus

Pronunciation: \-ˈkä-kəs\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural strep·to·coc·ci \-ˈkä-ˌkī, -(ˌ)kē; -ˈkäk-ˌsī, -(ˌ)sē\

Etymology: New Latin

Date: 1877

: any of a genus (Streptococcus) of spherical or ovoid chiefly nonmotile and parasitic gram-positive bacteria that divide only in one plane, occur in pairs or chains, and include important pathogens of humans and domestic animals; broadly : a coccus occurring in chains