nidus \NYE-dus\ noun
1 : a nest or breeding place; especially : a place or substance in an animal or plant where bacteria or other organisms lodge and multiply
*2 : a place where something originates, develops, or is located
Example sentence: The college, with its focus on human ecology, is widely known as a nidus of environmental activism. (The daycare, with its focus on grubby disgusting little children, is wisely known as a nidus of nasty germs.)
Did you know? The sciences use "nidus" to refer to a breeding ground, often a place where bacteria lodge and multiply. Thus, although it literally means "nest" in Latin, the word carries none of the positive connotations that "nest" has in English (such as "home"). Rather, a nidus is usually a source of infection or undesirable opinions or habits. But that hasn't kept other "nidus"-related words in English from referring to homier places, such as the nests where animals rear their young. We have "nidification," for the process of building a nest, and "nidicolous," meaning "reared in a nest."
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