listeriosis
UK[lɪˌstɪərɪˈəʊsɪs]US[lɪˌstɪriˈoʊsɪs]
n
a serious illness caused by eating food containing bacteria of the genus *Listeria*, especially affecting pregnant women, newborns, and people with weakened immune systems.
Morpheme Breakdown
listeri
osis
listeri
bacteria name
osis
diseased condition
Etymology
the term is a modern scientific construction, directly derived from the genus name Listeria. this bacterial genus was itself named in honor of joseph lister, the british pioneer of antiseptic surgery. the greek suffix '-osis', a common denoter of diseases or abnormal states in medical terminology, is appended to form the word for the illness. thus, 'listeriosis' literally translates to "the diseased condition caused by Listeria," following the classical model of naming infectious diseases after their causative pathogen.
Analysis
Structure: listeri (bacteria name) + osis (diseased condition)
listeri: modern latin, from Listeria (the genus name of the bacteria), functioning as the specific causative agent in the word.
osis: from greek '-ōsis', a suffix forming nouns, indicating a process, condition, or pathological state.
Examples
pregnant women are advised to avoid certain soft cheeses to reduce the risk of contracting listeriosis.
the food recall was issued after several cases of listeriosis were linked to the contaminated produce.
symptoms of listeriosis can include fever, muscle aches, and gastrointestinal distress.