Formed from sub- + virus
Proto-Indo-European *upó ‘up; from below’
Proto-Italic *supo ‘under’
Latin sub ‘under, beneath, below’
English sub-
Proto-Indo-European *wisós ‘fluidity, slime, poison’
Proto-Italic *weizos
Latin vīrus ‘poison, slime, venom’
Middle English virus
English virus
Today it means
noun An organism or substance, such as a viral protein, that is smaller than a virus and has some viral properties.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / subvirus
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