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
- A submicroscopic, non-cellular structure...
Ancestry of “virus”, step by step
virus traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin vīrus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | vīrus | — |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | -λογία | Base for nouns denoting the study of something,... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | λόγος | That which is said: word, sentence, speech,... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | λέγω | I put in order, arrange, gather; I choose, count,... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |
via Middle English virus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | virus | — |