n., pl., -gel·lae (-gĕl'ē), also -gel·las.
Any of various nonmotile, rod-shaped bacteria of the genus Shigella, which includes some species that cause dysentery.
[New Latin Shigella, genus name, after Kiyoshi Shiga (1870-1957), Japanese bacteriologist.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
