Relating to or caused by bacilli; of or pertaining to rod-shaped bacteria.
Formed from bacillus with the adjectival suffix -ian, following Latin patterns. Emerged in medical terminology during the late 1800s as bacteriology became a formal scientific discipline.
Scientists use 'bacillian' to describe infections and diseases in formal medical writing, but you rarely hear it in everyday speech—it's one of those Latin-rooted words that makes doctors sound extra scientific!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.