Standard Lemma guide

coli

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈkoʊ.laɪ/
  • CMU ARPABET: K OW1 L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Escherichia coli, a Gram-negative bacterium commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: attributive, often

Topics: bacteriology, biology, microbiology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: colibacillus

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Ellipsis of Bacterium coli or Bacillus coli, obsolete taxonomic names of the species (now called Escherichia coli). The word itself derives from Latin colī, genitive of colon (“colon, large intestine”).

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 大腸桿菌 /大肠杆菌 (dàcháng gǎnjūn) — Escherichia coli
  • Finnish: kolibakteeri — Escherichia coli
  • French: coli — Escherichia coli
  • French: colibacille — Escherichia coli
  • German: Kolibakterium — Escherichia coli
  • German: Kolibakterie — Escherichia coli
  • Hungarian: kólibaktérium — Escherichia coli
  • Hungarian: kólibacilus — Escherichia coli
  • Italian: colibacillo — Escherichia coli
  • Polish: pałeczka okrężnicy — Escherichia coli
  • Russian: кише́чная па́лочка (kišéčnaja páločka) — Escherichia coli