English
provirus
From pro- + virus.
Proto-Indo-European *pér ‘through’
Proto-Indo-European *pró ‘forwards, before’
Proto-Italic *prō ‘in front of, before’
Latin prō ‘in favor of, on behalf of’
English pro-
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 virus genome, such as HIV, that integrates itself into the DNA of a host cell so as to be passively replicated along with the host genome.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / provirus