Gram-positive

Origin

From Gram ("a surname") + positive, after Danish bacteriologist Hans Christian Gram, who invented the Gram staining method.

Alternative forms

• Gram-positive (Note: The form with capital G is the only form given in the American Heritage Dictionary. "Gram" is actually a proper name.)

Full definition of gram-positive

Adjective

1. (medicine, bacteriology, of a bacterium) That is stained violet by Gram's method

Coordinate terms

• gram-negative