Definify.com

Webster 1828 Edition


Virus

VI'RUS

,
Noun.
[L. See Virulent.] Foul or contagious matter of an ulcer, postule, &c.; poison.

Definition 2024


Virus

Virus

See also: virus, virüs, vírus, vīrus, vīruss, and -virus

Translingual

Proper noun

Virus n

  1. 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
Baltimore genome-based classification

German

Etymology

From Latin vīrus n.

Pronunciation

Noun

Virus n, m (plural Viren or Vira or Virusse)

  1. 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.

Usage notes

  • The masculine gender is colloquial, and the plural Vira is only used with neuter gender.

virus

virus

See also: Virus, vírus, vīrus, vīruss, virüs, and -virus

English

Noun

virus (countable and uncountable, plural viruses or viri or (proscribed) virii)

Wikispecies

The virions that carry the Marburg virus
  1. (archaic) Venom, as produced by a poisonous animal etc.
  2. (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.
  3. A disease caused by these organisms.
    He caught a virus and had to stay home from school.
  4. (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

Descendants

See also


Asturian

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin virus.

Noun

virus m (plural virus)

  1. virus

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin virus.

Noun

virus m (plural virus)

  1. virus

Related terms


Czech

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin virus.

Noun

virus m

  1. virus

Declension

Related terms


Danish

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin virus.

Noun

virus c, n (singular definite virussen or virusset, plural indefinite virus or virusser or vira, plural definite virussene or virusserne or viraene)

  1. virus

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: vi‧rus

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin virus.

Noun

virus n (plural virussen, diminutive virusje n)

  1. (microbiology) virus
  2. (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

Borrowing from Latin virus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʋirus/

Noun

virus

  1. 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

French

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin virus.

Pronunciation

Noun

virus m (plural virus)

  1. virus

Galician

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin virus (poison, slime, venom).

Noun

virus m (plural virus)

  1. virus (pathogen)
  2. computer virus

Italian

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin virus.

Noun

virus m

  1. 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

  1. slimy liquid, slime
  2. poison, venom

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

Anagrams

Descendants

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)
  • virus in William Smith., editor (1854, 1857) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin virus

Noun

virus n (definite singular viruset, indefinite plural virus, definite plural virusa or virusene)

  1. a virus
  2. a computer virus (see datavirus)

References


Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin virus

Noun

virus n (definite singular viruset, indefinite plural virus, definite plural virusa)

  1. a virus
  2. a computer virus (see datavirus)

References


Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from French virus, Latin virus.

Noun

virus n (plural virusuri)

  1. virus

Declension


Serbo-Croatian

Noun

vírus m (Cyrillic spelling ви́рус)

  1. (medicine) virus (DNA/RNA causing disease)
  2. (computing) computer virus

Declension


Spanish

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin virus.

Noun

virus m (plural virus)

  1. virus
  2. computer virus

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin virus.

Noun

virus n

  1. virus