rickettsia
noun
rickettsia is spelled R-I-C-K-E-T-T-S-I-A: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 130,282nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, rickettsia means “Any of a group of gram-negative bacteria, of the genus Rickettsia, carried as parasites by ticks, fleas and lice, that cause typhus and other diseases” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of rickettsia is rickettsias or rickettsiae.
How many letters and syllables are in rickettsia?
| Letters | 10: R-I-C-K-E-T-T-S-I-A |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 19 million words; the 130,282nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is rickettsia?
Rickettsia appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 130,282nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of rickettsia
- rickettsias plural
- rickettsiae plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rickettsia mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of a group of gram-negative bacteria, of the genus Rickettsia, carried as parasites by ticks, fleas and lice, that cause typhus and other diseases.
- 2
informalAny bacterium of the order Rickettsiales.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rickettsia in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Rickettsia-genus bacterium:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rickettsie |
| German | Rickettsie |
| Portuguese | rickettsia |
| Spanish | rickettsia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does rickettsia come from?
Borrowed from translingual Rickettsia (genus name), from Howard Taylor Ricketts, equivalent to Ricketts + -ia.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).