Having the shape or form of a bacterium, usually rod-like or cylindrical.
From bacteria (Greek 'bakterion' meaning rod) + -form (from Latin 'forma' meaning shape). This descriptive term was coined to classify organisms or structures that resemble bacterial morphology.
Scientists use 'bacteriform' to describe all sorts of things that aren't actually bacteria—like certain crystal formations or even the shape of some ancient fossils—because the rod shape is just really useful in nature.
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