Definify.com
Webster 1828 Edition
Virus
VI'RUS
,Definition 2024
Virus
Virus
Translingual
Proper noun
Virus n
- The taxonomic kingdom made up of the viruses, submicroscopic non-cellular structures consisting of a core of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coat, that require a living host cell to replicate, and often cause disease in the host.
Usage notes
- Virus is the only taxon in this kingdom that is not italicized, in contrast to the practice in other kingdoms, in which only taxa at the rank of genus and below are italicized.
Hyponyms
- ICTV taxonomy
- (kingdom): Caudovirales; Herpesvirales; Ligamenvirales; Mononegavirales; Nidovirales; Picornavirales; Tymovirales - orders
- Adenoviridae, Ampullaviridae; Arenaviridae; Ascoviridae; Asfarviridae; Astroviridae; Avsunviroidae; Baculoviridae; Barnaviridae; Birnaviridae; Bromoviridae; Bunyaviridae; Caliciviridae; Caulimoviridae; Chrysoviridae; Circoviridae; Closteroviridae; Corticoviridae; Cystoviridae; Endornaviridae; Flaviviridae; Flexiviridae; Fuselloviridae; Geminiviridae; Globuloviridae; Guttaviridae; Hepadnaviridae; Hypoviridae; Inoviridae; Iridoviridae; Leviviridae; Luteoviridae; Metaviridae; Microviridae; Mimiviridae; Nanoviridae; Narnaviridae; Nimaviridae; Nodaviridae; Ophioviridae; Orthomyxoviridae; Papillomaviridae; Partitiviridae; Parvoviridae; Phycodnaviridae; Picobirnaviridae; Plasmaviridae; Polydnaviridae; Polyomaviridae; Pospiviroidae; Potyviridae; Poxviridae; Pseudoviridae; Reoviridae; Retroviridae; Tectiviridae; Tetraviridae; Togaviridae; Tombusviridae; Totiviridae - unassigned families
- Bacilladnavirus; Cilevirus; Deltavirus; Dinodnavirus; Emaravirus; Higrevirus; Idaeovirus; Ourmiavirus; Polemovirus; Rhizidiovirus; Salterprovirus; Sobemovirus; Tenuivirus; Umbravirus; Varicosavirus - unassigned genera
- I dsDNA virus; II ssDNA virus; III dsRNA virus; IV (+)ssRNA virus; V (-)ssRNA virus; VI ssRNA-RT virus; VII dsDNA-RT virus - groups
German
Etymology
From Latin vīrus n.
Pronunciation
Noun
Virus n, m (plural Viren or Vira or Virusse)
- virus
- 1932, Ergebnisse der gesamten Medizin, Band 17, Urban & Schwarzenberg, p.132:
- Völlig verfehlt ist die Vorstellung, als ob die Virusse nichts anderes wären als ganz kleine Bakterien oder kleinste, uns bisher nicht sichtbare Formen dieser Lebewesen.
- 1940, Eugen Haagen, 4. Viruskrankheiten, in: Hans Reiter & Bernhard Möllers (eds.), Carl Flügges Grundriss der Hygiene für studierende und praktische Ärzte[,] Medizinal- und Verwaltungsbeamte. Elfte Auflage, Verlag von Julius Springer, Berlin, p.792:
- Die Vira stellen eine wichtige Gruppe von Krankheitserregern dar, die im System der Mirkoorganismen eine besondere Stellung einnehmen.
- 1932, Ergebnisse der gesamten Medizin, Band 17, Urban & Schwarzenberg, p.132:
Usage notes
- The masculine gender is colloquial, and the plural Vira is only used with neuter gender.
virus
virus
English
Noun
virus (countable and uncountable, plural viruses or viri or (proscribed) virii)
- (archaic) Venom, as produced by a poisonous animal etc.
- (pathology, microbiology, virology) A submicroscopic, non-cellular structure consisting of a core of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coat, that requires a living host cell to replicate, and often causes disease in the host organism.
- 2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193:
- Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola.
- 2001, Leslie Iversen, Drugs: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2001, p. 64)
- Viruses are the smallest and most simplified forms of life.
-
- A disease caused by these organisms.
- He caught a virus and had to stay home from school.
- (computing) A program which can covertly transmit itself between computers via networks (especially the Internet) or removable storage such as disks, often causing damage to systems and data; also computer virus.
Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:virus
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations
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Descendants
See also
Danish
Etymology
Noun
virus c, n (singular definite virussen or virusset, plural indefinite virus or virusser or vira, plural definite virussene or virusserne or viraene)
Dutch
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: vi‧rus
Etymology
Noun
virus n (plural virussen, diminutive virusje n)
- (microbiology) virus
- (computer science) virus
Usage notes
Like most Latin borrowings, this word kept its original Latin gender (neuter); it is one of the few words ending in -us which is not masculine.
Descendants
Finnish
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʋirus/
Noun
virus
Declension
Inflection of virus (Kotus type 39/vastaus, no gradation) | |||
---|---|---|---|
nominative | virus | virukset | |
genitive | viruksen | virusten viruksien |
|
partitive | virusta | viruksia | |
illative | virukseen | viruksiin | |
singular | plural | ||
nominative | virus | virukset | |
accusative | nom. | virus | virukset |
gen. | viruksen | ||
genitive | viruksen | virusten viruksien |
|
partitive | virusta | viruksia | |
inessive | viruksessa | viruksissa | |
elative | viruksesta | viruksista | |
illative | virukseen | viruksiin | |
adessive | viruksella | viruksilla | |
ablative | virukselta | viruksilta | |
allative | virukselle | viruksille | |
essive | viruksena | viruksina | |
translative | virukseksi | viruksiksi | |
instructive | — | viruksin | |
abessive | viruksetta | viruksitta | |
comitative | — | viruksineen |
Galician
Etymology
Borrowing from Latin virus (“poison, slime, venom”).
Noun
virus m (plural virus)
- virus (pathogen)
- computer virus
Latin
Etymology
Via rhotacism from Proto-Indo-European *wisos, *wīsos, *wiHsos ("fluidity, slime, poison"). Cognates include Sanskrit विष (víṣa), Ancient Greek ἰός (iós), and Tocharian B wase.
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈwiː.rus/, [ˈwiː.rʊs]
Noun
vīrus n (genitive vīrī); second declension
Declension
Second declension, nominative/accusative/vocative in -us.
Case | Singular |
---|---|
nominative | vīrus |
genitive | vīrī |
dative | vīrō |
accusative | vīrus |
ablative | vīrō |
vocative | vīrus |
- There is also the heteroclitic genitive singular vīrus.
Synonyms
- (poison): venēnum
Anagrams
Descendants
- English: virus
References
- virus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- virus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- VIRUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
- Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- to vent one's anger, spite on some one: virus acerbitatis suae effundere in aliquem (De Amic. 23. 87)
-
(ambiguous) many learned men; many scholars: multi viri docti, or multi et ii docti (not multi docti)
-
(ambiguous) to separate (of the woman): repudium remittere viro (Dig. 24. 3)
-
(ambiguous) statesmen: viri rerum civilium, rei publicae gerendae periti or viri in re publica prudentes
-
(ambiguous) men of rank and dignity: viri clari et honorati (De Sen. 7. 22)
- to vent one's anger, spite on some one: virus acerbitatis suae effundere in aliquem (De Amic. 23. 87)
- virus in William Smith., editor (1854, 1857) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
Noun
virus n (definite singular viruset, indefinite plural virus, definite plural virusa or virusene)
- a virus
- a computer virus (see datavirus)
References
- “virus” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
Noun
virus n (definite singular viruset, indefinite plural virus, definite plural virusa)
- a virus
- a computer virus (see datavirus)
References
- “virus” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowing from French virus, Latin virus.
Noun
virus n (plural virusuri)
Declension
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) virus | virusul | (niște) virusuri | virusurile |
genitive/dative | (unui) virus | virusului | (unor) virusuri | virusurilor |
vocative | virusule | virusurilor |
Serbo-Croatian
Noun
vírus m (Cyrillic spelling ви́рус)
- (medicine) virus (DNA/RNA causing disease)
- (computing) computer virus