Bacteriochlorophylls

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Light-absorbing pigment molecules found in photosynthetic bacteria that capture energy from sunlight for their metabolism
2. Chlorophyll-like compounds present in certain purple and green photosynthetic bacteria, enabling them to harvest light energy
3. Plural pigments in bacteria, related to chlorophyll, that absorb light and drive photosynthesis without producing oxygen

Etymology: Bacteriochlorophylls are pigments found in photosynthetic bacteria, and their name is a compound built from two older words. The first part, "bacterio-", comes from New Latin "bactērium", a word that goes back to the Ancient Greek "baktēría", meaning a little staff or cane, and the rod-like shape of the microbes gave the name. The second part, "chlorophyll", is a modern coinage from Greek roots meaning "pale green" and "leaf," which describes the green pigment in plants. The compound simply joins these two elements: "bacterio-" names the organisms, and "chlorophyll" names the family of light-capturing pigments they share with plants. The plural form refers to the several distinct pigments of this kind, which differ slightly in their chemical structure.