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Where does the word "virus" come from? It comes from Latin virus, and was adopted directly into English (1890s).
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Where does the word "virus" come from? It comes from Latin virus, and was adopted directly into English (1890s).
Virus’s story begins in Latin: virus meant “poison, venom.” Literally poison, slimy liquid, applied to any harmful agent. It reached English by 1890s as virus. Narrowed to mean the microscopic infectious agent once discovered. Today, virus means a microscopic infectious agent that replicates inside living cells.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient virus "poison, venom", literally poison, slimy liquid, applied to any harmful agent.
- Stage 2 · English · 1890s virus "a microscopic infectious agent", narrowed to mean the microscopic infectious agent once discovered.