pathogen
Other forms: pathogens
A pathogen is a tiny living organism, such as a bacterium or virus, that makes people sick. Washing your hands frequently helps you avoid the pathogens that can make you sick.
Pathos is the Greek word for disease and -genes means "born of." So, a pathogen is something that causes disease, like a virus like the rhinovirus, which causes the common cold. At summer picnics, people are cautious about keeping certain foods like potato salad in coolers with ice — the eggs in such dishes spoil quickly out in the heat, introducing pathogens that can make people sick.
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Vocabulary lists containing pathogen
Learn these words that include the word root path, from the Greek pathos, "feeling." Here are links to the complete set of Common Senses lists: Hearing: Phon / Aud / Son Sight: Vid, Vis / Spec, Spect, Spic / Op, Ops, Opt Touch: Path / Sent, Sens / Tact, Tang
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