word, or a new word compounded from Latin or Greek stems, or it may be derived from some other language; but whatever its origin, when used as a generic name, it must be regarded as a Latin noun. If it is a word not found in classic Latin, it is still to be treated as Latin. Some examples of generic names in bacteriology which are Latin or which are formed from Latin roots are: Bacillus (masculine) a small rod; Cristispira (feminine) a crested spiral; Lactobacillus (masculine) a milk small rod; Sarcina (feminine) a packet or bundle. Many others are words from the Greek or are compounded from Greek roots, the words transliterated into Latin letters and with endings modified in conformity with Latin usage; some words of Greek origin are Micrococcus (masculine) a small grain (sphere); Bacterium (neuter) a small rod; Clostridium (neuter) a small spindle; Corynebacterium (neuter) clubbed small rod; Actinomyces (masculine) ray fungus. Other generic names have been given in honor of persons or places as Beggiatoa (feminine), Borrelia (feminine), Eberthella (feminine), Pasteurella (feminine), Erwinia (feminine), Zopfius (masculine).
4. The second word in the scientific name of a species is a specific epithet. It is not capitalized (some authors capitalize species names derived from proper nouns). The specific epithet may be:
(a) An adjective modifying the noun and indicating by its ending agreement with the generic name in gender, as Bacterium album (white Bacterium), Bacillus albus (white Bacillus), Sarcina alba (white Sarcina), Eberthella dispar (different Eberthella), Bacterium variabile (variable Bacterium) , Brucella melitensis (maltese Brucella), Bacillus teres (rounded Bacillus), Bacillus graveolens (sweet-smelling Bacillus).
| Typical adjectives | |||||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |||||
| white | albus | alba | album | ||||
| black | niger | nigra | nigrum | ||||
| delicate | tener | tenera | tenerum | ||||
| sharp | acer | acris | acre | ||||
| variable | variabilis | variabilis | variabile | ||||
| different | dispar | dispar | dispar | ||||
| like a berry | coccoides | coccoides | coccoides | ||||
| gas-forming | aerogenes | aerogenes | aerogenes | ||||
(b) An adjective in the form of the present participle of a verb, as Clostridium dissolvens (the dissolving Clostridium, in the sense of the Clostridium which is able to dissolve). Bacillus adhaerens (the adhering Bacillus), Acetobacter ascendens (the climbing Acetobacter), Bacillus esterificans (the ester-producing Bacillus). The endings for present participles used as adjectives are the same for all genders. The past participle is used occasionally, as in Pseudomonas aptata (the adapted Pseudomonas), Spirillum attenuatum (the attenuated Spirillum).
(c) A noun in the genitive (possessive) modifying the generic name. There is no necessary agreement in gender or number. Examples, Clostridium welchii
