a. and sb. [f. THERMO- + -PHIL.] a. adj. Requiring a high temperature for development, as certain bacteria. b. sb. A thermophil organism. So Thermophilic, Thermophilous adjs.
1896. Allbutt’s Syst. Med., I. 513. There is a class of microbes which refuse to grow at any temperature below 50°C.; such organisms are called ‘thermophile.’
1899. Nature, 15 June, 147/1. Facts regarding the existence of thermophilous organisms. Ibid. (1900), 22 Feb., 388/2. Thermophilic bacteria … are specially important as regards the fermentation in ensilage and the digestion of cellulose.
