Where does “virulent” come from?
virulent (Dutch) comes from French virulent, from Latin virulentus, from Latin -ulentus, from Latin -entus, from Latin cruentus, from Latin cruor, from Proto-Indo-European krewh₂- — blood outside the body.
Ancestry of “virulent”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | virulent | virulent |
| 2 | Latin | virulentus | poisonous |
| 3 | Latin | -ulentus | adjective-forming suffix meaning abounding in,... |
| 4 | Latin | -entus | adjective-forming suffix meaning abounding in,... |
| 5 | Latin | cruentus | bloody in its various senses, "particularly:" |
| 6 | Latin | cruor | blood, gore; murder, bloodshed |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | krewh₂- | blood outside the body |