Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “virus” come from?

Virus comes from Latin virus, meaning poison or venom, a word of unknown ultimate origin.

virus (English): A submicroscopic, non-cellular structure...

Definitions

  1. A submicroscopic, non-cellular structure...

Ancestry of “virus”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinvīrus—
2Ancient Greek-λογίαBase for nouns denoting the study of something,...
3Ancient GreekλόγοςThat which is said: word, sentence, speech,...
4Ancient GreekλέγωI put in order, arrange, gather; I choose, count,...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...

Words derived from “virus”

  • viral
  • antiretroviral
  • antiviral
  • antivirus
  • papillomavirus
  • retroviral
  • herpesvirus
  • acyclovir
  • retrovirus
  • adenoviral
  • parvovirus
  • poliovirus
  • rotavirus
  • coronavirus
  • baculovirus
  • virally
  • enterovirus
  • viroid
  • nonviral
  • poxvirus
  • provirus
  • polyomavirus
  • proviral
  • enteroviral
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- →