Back to all words

Virus

2 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means a microscopic infectious agent that replicates inside living cells
1
Stage 1 of 2
virus
Latin · ancient
"poison, venom"
literally poison, slimy liquid, applied to any harmful agent
2
Stage 2 of 2
virus
English · 1890s
"a microscopic infectious agent"
narrowed to mean the microscopic infectious agent once discovered
Drag to pan · scroll to zoom