Leptospiral

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or characteristic of a genus of spirochete bacteria that cause leptospirosis and are spiral-shaped; pertaining to the microorganisms responsible for a zoonotic bacterial infection
2. Associated with a type of thin, spiral bacterium belonging to the genus that causes diseases in animals and humans through water or soil contamination; describing the causative agent of leptospirosis
3. Concerning or derived from a slender, helically coiled bacterium genus known for causing a widespread infectious disease transmitted primarily by contact with infected animal urine or contaminated environments

Etymology: Leptospiral comes from the scientific Greek-based coinage "leptospira," the name of a genus of spiral-shaped bacteria. The first part, "lepto-," comes from Greek "leptos," meaning "thin," "slender," or "fine," and the second part, "spira," is the Latin borrowing of Greek "speira," meaning "coil" or "spiral." Together, "leptospira" describes a bacterium that is thin and tightly coiled, and "-al" is the ordinary English adjectival suffix that turns it into a description of anything belonging to or relating to those organisms. The genus name was created in the early twentieth century by scientists studying these organisms, and the adjective followed from it. Like many terms in modern biology and medicine, it was built deliberately from classical roots rather than inherited from ancient writers, who had no word for these microbes at all. The Greek and Latin pieces were chosen because they describe the organism's physical shape, so the name tells you what the bacterium looks like before you know anything else about it.