trypanosome

noun

try·​pano·​some tri-ˈpa-nə-ˌsōm 

: any of a genus (Trypanosoma) of parasitic flagellate protozoans that infest the blood of various vertebrates including humans, are usually transmitted by the bite of an insect, and include some that cause serious diseases (such as sleeping sickness and Chagas disease)

Examples of trypanosome in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The trypanosome mostly inserts its DNA into parts of the human genome that are already mobile. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2010

Millions of people in Latin America have been invade by a parasite - a trypanosome called Trypanosome cruzi. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2010

Other complex parasites set up shop in the human body for long, persistent infections, including other species of trypanosome. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2010

Animals that might harbor trypanosomes were hunted down. —Carey Baraka, Quartz Africa, 26 Apr. 2020

The cause of the headaches, weakness and pain were trypanosomes, tiny parasites spread by the bite of the tsetste fly — a companion of the elephants. —Washington Post, 30 Oct. 2019

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin Trypanosoma, genus name, from Greek trȳ́panon "tool for boring holes in wood, drill" + New Latin -soma -some entry 3; so named from the twisted appearance of its body — more at trepan entry 3

Note: The genus was named by the Hungarian microbiologist David Gruby (1810-98) in "Recherches et observations sur une nouvelle espèce d'hématozoaire, Trypanosoma sanguinis," Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des Sciences, tome 17ième (juillet-décembre 1843), pp. 1134-36. According to Gruby's description. "… son corps est allongé, aplati et dentelé comme une lame de scie sur toute la longueur de l'un de ses bords; il est, comme je l'ai mentionné ci-dessus, lisse, et tourné ensuite deux à trois fois autour de son axe, comme une tarière ou un tire-bouchon; c'est pourquoi je propose de nommer cet hématozoaire Trypanosome." ("… its body is elongated, flattened and serrated like the blade of a saw along the entire length of one of its sides; it is, as I mentioned above, smooth, and then turned two to three times around its axis, like a drill or corkscrew; that is why I propose to name this hematozoan [blood-dwelling parasite] Trypanosoma.")

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

trypanosome

noun

try·​pano·​some tri-ˈpan-ə-ˌsōm 

: any of a genus of parasitic protozoans that infect the blood, are usually transmitted by the bite of an insect, and include some that cause serious diseases (as sleeping sickness)

Medical Definition

trypanosome

noun

try·​pano·​some tri-ˈpan-ə-ˌsōm 

: any flagellate of the genus Trypanosoma