XPUM04@prime-a.central-services.umist.ac.uk (Anthony Appleyard) (03/13/90)
Dr. Martin Erdelen <HRZ090@DE0HRZ1A.BITNET> on Fri, 09 Mar 90 at 08:54:16
- -0500 wrote: "...would somebody please tell me the etymology of the word
"virus" and therefrom deduce the correct declination (esp. genitive &
plural)... I'd like to get some truly technical information.... Could it be
that "virus" is an artificial term in the first place?...".
"virus" is a normal Latin 2nd declension word, meaning 'poison':-
Nom Voc Acc Gen Dat&Abl
Sing virus vire virum viri viro
Plur viri viri viros virorum viris
Some case forms coincide with case forms of the irregular noun "vir" =
'man', except for the length of the stem vowel. This is academic, as the
plural of 'virus' as used as English by biologists etc, is 'viruses'.
'Virus' was first used in English in its present meaning as 'filterable
virus' to mean a supposed (and later proved to exist) infective agent which
couldn't be seen with the microscopes of the time and would get through
filters that would stop bacteria.
{A.Appleyard} (email: APPLEYARD@UK.AC.UMIST), Tue, 13 Mar 90 08:52:56 GMT