acidophilicadj.
/ˌasᵻdə(ʊ)ˈfɪlɪk/, U.S. /ˌæsədoʊˈfɪlɪk/, /ˌæsədəˈfɪlɪk/ 1. Biology and Medicine. = acidophil adj. 1. Cf. acidophilous adj. 1.
ΚΠ
1900 W. A. N. Dorland Amer. Illustr. Med. Dict. 21/1 Acidophilic, Acidophilous, readily stained with acid dyes.
1904 Lancet 2 July 37/2 The muscle fibres were dissociated and separated by a granular acidophilic deposit.
1953 A. G. E. Pearse Histochem. 476 After formalin fixation the granules of the adrenal medullary cells are acidophilic and stain rose-red with Giemsa.
1993 Brit. Jrnl. Surg. 80 415/1 [Epithelial] cells are fairly uniform in size. Their cytoplasm is lightly opaque, sometimes vacuolated, acidophilic or cyanophilic.
2. Microbiology and Botany. Of a bacterium, plant, etc.: growing well in an acidic environment. Cf. acidophil adj. 2, acidophilous adj. 2.
ΚΠ
1909 Jrnl. Biol. Chem. 6 504 The lack of bacterial development in these media is the strongest evidence of the inhibition..by the acidophilic flora.
1953 R. W. Fairbrother Text-bk. Bacteriol. (ed. 7) xxx. 369 Their high resistance to acids. For this reason they [sc. Lactobacilli] are referred to as ‘acidophilic’ or ‘aciduric’ bacilli.
1987 Nature 3 Sept. 48/1 The biota of Plastic Lake have experienced major detrimental effects in the past eight years including..proliferation of acidophilic filamentous algae.
2001 Guardian 11 Jan. (Science section) 2/6 Water from volcanic vents is not only hot, it is also acidic. Many acidophilic organisms have been identified.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1900