# rickettsia

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
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. Any bacterium of the order Rickettsiales.

## Etymology
Borrowed from translingual Rickettsia (genus name), from Howard Taylor Ricketts, equivalent to Ricketts + -ia.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/rickettsia