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# The name penicillin comes from Latin penicillus, brush, and is related to the word penis
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/penitsillin-nazyvaetsia-tak-iz-za-svoego-vneshnego-vida-pod-mikroskopom-koloniia-penitsillov-vygliadit-kak-kist/
- Published: 2020-01-09T16:32:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T19:07:01.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Science, Nature

Penicillin is so called because of its appearance: under the microscope, a colony of Penicillium looks like a brush. The name of the genus, Penicillus, comes from the Latin penicillus, "paintbrush". Oddly enough, penicillin is a kinsman of the word penis, from the Latin penis, "tail". Penicillus, accordingly, a "little tail", alludes to the tufts of hair that have long been used to make brushes.