Etymologically
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virus

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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

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