virus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈwiː.rʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈviː.rus]^[1]

Forms

vīrus n sg (genitive vīrī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *weis-o- (“poison”), from Proto-Indo-European *weis- (“poison”), with /s/ becoming /r/ between vowels.^[2][1] De Vaan notes that the word is almost restricted to the nominative and accusative singular, which may point to an old neuter s-stem.^[2] Cognate with Sanskrit विष (viṣá, “poison”), Avestan 𐬬𐬍𐬱𐬀 (vīša, “poison”), Ancient Greek ἰός (iós, “poison”) and Welsh gwy (“poison”).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Lucilius.^[2][4] Köbler dates Lucilius c. 180–102 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It was the venom of snakes and other creatures, as in Cicero's Aratea and Virgil, where Jupiter gives venom to black serpents.^[3] It also meant an acrid juice or smell in something, and a secretion of plants or bodies with medicinal or magic power, including slime and semen.^[3][5] Figuratively it was the venom of a spiteful mind, as in Cicero's “let him vomit out the venom of his bitterness”.^[6]

Medieval writers used it of the poison of heresy.^[7] English took virus in the late 14th century for a poisonous substance, then for pus from a sore, and by the 1790s for the agent of a contagious disease.^[8] It was borrowed in the same way into French virus, Italian virus and Spanish virus.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses it.^[2][4]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil says Jupiter gave venom to black snakes.^[3][4]
• late 14th century – English virus is recorded for a poison.^[8]
• 1790s – the medical sense “agent of a contagious disease” appears in English.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. Venom, poison (of snakes and other creatures).^[3]
2. An acrid juice or smell.^[3]
3. A potent secretion (of plants or the body); slime, semen.^[3][5]
4. (figurative) Venom, malice.^[6]

Word family

• vīrōsus
• vīrulentus

Related words

• English virus

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes toxicum, poison as a term of natural history, venēnum, a prepared poison, often sweet and tempting, and vīrus, a harmful and foul-tasting juice.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
7. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com