antivirus etymology

English word antivirus comes from English anti-, English virus

Detailed word origin of antivirus

Dictionary entryLanguageDefinition
anti- English (eng) (immunology) That reacts with immunoglobins found in the specified animal.. Against, hostile to.. Contrasting with the norm.. Counteracting, neutralizing.. Opposite of, reverse.. Physically opposite: applied to mountain ranges.. Related to antiparticles.
virus English (eng) (archaic) Venom, as produced by a poisonous animal etc.. (computing) A program which can covertly transmit itself between computers via networks (especially the Internet) or removable storage such as disks, often causing damage to systems and data; also computer virus.. A disease caused by these organisms.. A submicroscopic, non-cellular structure consisting of a core of DNA or RNA [...]
antivirus English (eng) (computing) A piece of software that is used to detect, delete and or neutralize computer-based viruses.

Words with the same origin as antivirus

Descendants of anti-
antacid anti antianxiety antibacterial antichrist anticlimax anticrime antidepressant antifreeze antigovernment antihero antihistamine antimatter antineoplaston antioxidant antipersonnel antiperspirant antipsychotic antisocial antitank antitrust antivenin antivenom antiviral
Descendants of virus
viral