English
protovirus
From proto- + virus.
Proto-Indo-European *pér ‘through’
Proto-Indo-European *pró ‘forwards, before’
Proto-Hellenic *pró
Ancient Greek πρό ‘before’
Ancient Greek πρῶτος ‘first’
English proto-
Proto-Indo-European *wisós ‘fluidity, slime, poison’
Proto-Italic *weizos
Latin vīrus ‘poison, slime, venom’
Middle English virus
English virus
Today it means
noun A DNA sequence capable of mutating into an oncogenic virus, proposed as a hypothesis to explain the origin of ribodeoxyviruses as arising from normal cellular components.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / protovirus