Where does “antiretroviral” come from?
Antiretroviral derives from English retroviral, from English viral, from English virus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂en-, meaning to breathe or blow.
antiretroviral (English): That combats infection by retroviruses; An agent...
Definitions
- That combats infection by retroviruses; An agent...
Ancestry of “antiretroviral”, step by step
antiretroviral traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English retroviral
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | retroviral | Of or pertaining to a retrovirus |
| 2 | English | viral | Of or relating to a biological virus; Caused by a... |
| 3 | English | -ál | Of or pertaining to. Adjectival suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to produce an adjective form. Often added to words of Latin origin, but used with other words also |
| 4 | English | aldehyde | Any of a large class of reactive organic... |
| 5 | German | Aldehyd | aldehyde |
| 6 | Latin | alcohol | kohl, collyrium, stibium; any other powder... |
| 7 | Andalusian Arabic | كُحُول | — |
| 8 | Arabic | كحل | antimony; kohl, stibnite; black coloring of the... |
| 9 | Arabic | كُحْل | antimony; kohl, stibnite |
| 10 | Akkadian | guḫlum | kohl, antimony paste |
via French antirétroviral
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | antirétroviral | antiretroviral |
| 2 | French | rétroviral | retroviral |
| 3 | French | viral | viral |
| 4 | French | virus | virus |
| 5 | Latin | vīrus | — |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -λογία | Base for nouns denoting the study of something,... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | λόγος | That which is said: word, sentence, speech,... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | λέγω | I put in order, arrange, gather; I choose, count,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |