virus Italian · revision 39272

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1801|origins=ine-pro *wisós}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈvi.rus/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''virus''' ''m'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned borrowing, [[bor|la|vīrus|t=plant juice; slime; venom, poison]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) In the 16th century the French surgeon Ambroise Paré used the Latin word for the contagious, corrosive pus of a wound, and, from there it entered the international vocabulary of science; in the 19th century it was applied to the submicroscopic agents of infection.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|4065) DEI takes the Italian word through [[fr|virus]], and notes that the Latin word also survives in the old popular [[avvirato|t=poisoned]].^(DEI|4065)^(Prati 1951|1057)

+

+ The Latin noun continues [[itc-pro|*weizos]], from [[ine-pro|*wisós|t=poison]].^(Wiktionary) Its cognates include [[sa|विष|tr=viṣá|t=poison]], [[ae|vīša]], [[grc|ἰός|tr=iós|t=poison]], [[txb|wase]], [[mga|fí]] and [[cy|gwy]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Latin uses the word almost only in the nominative and accusative singular, which may point to an old neuter s-stem; de Vaan cites Matasović's reconstruction of a root noun [[ine-pro|*weys-]] to account for the long ⟨ī⟩.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Sabatini–Coletti dates the word to 1801.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) In 1828 it appears in Omodei, and Leone's dictionary of that year defines it as an animal poison “supposed rather than known”, held to be the agent of diseases passed on by contact.^(DEI|4065)^(Prati 1951|1057) DELI's first record, in the modern sense of a submicroscopic infectious agent, is the title of G. L. Ponza's ''L'inoculazione del virus pneumonico'' (1853).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Latin derivatives came with the word: [[virulento]], from late Latin ''virulentus'', is recorded in the sense “full of poison” in Florio (1598), in the medical sense in 1848, and figuratively, “full of rage”, in 1831;^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) ''virulenza'' was used of violent speech in 1875 and in microbiology in 1879.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Panzini recorded the figurative ''virus'' in 1931.^(DEI|4065) The 20th century formed ''virosi'' (1947) and ''virale'', ''virologia'' and ''virologo'' (1961).^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Modern Italian uses the word for any pathogenic agent in everyday language, for a malicious computer program, and figuratively for a passion that spreads like a disease, such as ''il virus della gelosia''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 16th century – Ambroise Paré uses Latin ''virus'' for contagious pus.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1801 – Date of first record in Sabatini–Coletti.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ * 1828 – Omodei and Leone use the word.^(DEI|4065)^(Prati 1951|1057)

+ * 1853 – G. L. Ponza writes of a ''virus pneumonico''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1931 – Panzini records the figurative sense.^(DEI|4065)

+ * 1947 – ''Virosi'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1961 – ''Virale'', ''virologia'' and ''virologo'' are recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(biology)'' A [[m|en|virus]]: a submicroscopic infectious agent made of nucleic acid in a protein coat, which can only replicate inside a host cell: ''Il virus si trasmette con la saliva.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(common)'' Any agent that causes an infectious disease.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(computing)'' A computer virus: a program that spreads to other computers and damages data or their working: ''L'antivirus ha bloccato un virus nella posta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Something that spreads harmful feelings or behaviour, almost like a disease: ''il virus dell'invidia''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[virale]]

+ * [[virologia]]

+ * [[virologo]]

+ * [[virologico]]

+ * [[virosi]]

+ * [[antivirus]]

+ * [[retrovirus]]

+ * [[virione]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[virulento]]

+ * [[virulenza]]

+ * [[la|vīrus]]

+ * [[fr|virus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The noun is masculine and does not change in the plural: ''i virus''.^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}