Virus etymology

English

English word virus comes from Latin virus (Poison, venom. Slimy liquid, slime.)

Etymology of virus

Detailed word origin of virus

Dictionary entry Language Definition
virus Latin (lat) Poison, venom. Slimy liquid, slime.
virus English (en) (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 [...]