Relating to or resembling a bacillus or rod-shaped bacterium; of or pertaining to bacteria of the bacillus type.
From bacillus (Latin, meaning small stick or rod) + -ary (Latin suffix meaning relating to). Bacillus comes from baculum meaning stick or rod, the shape bacteria were observed to have under early microscopes.
When scientists first peered through microscopes and saw bacteria, they immediately named them after what they looked like—bacillus means 'little stick' in Latin, and coccus means 'little berry,' which is exactly how bacteria appear to the naked eye through early lenses.
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