Where does “virulent” come from?
Virulent comes from Middle English virulent, from Latin virulentus, derived from Latin virus meaning poison, with the suffix -entus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European krewh₂- meaning blood or raw flesh.
virulent (English): Of animals, plants, or substances: extremely...
Definitions
- Of animals, plants, or substances: extremely...
Ancestry of “virulent”, step by step
virulent traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French virulent
| 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 |
via Middle English virulent
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | virulent | leaking or seeping pus, purulent; extremely... |