Etymology

antiviral

A1N1T1I1V4I1R1A1L1

Today it means: Inhibiting the growth and reproduction of a virus. Full definition →

English viral ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? ← Middle English virus
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂énti
  4. Ancient Greekᾰ̓ντῐ́ (ăntĭ́)
  5. Ancient Greekἀντι- (anti-)
  6. Englishanti-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*weys-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*wisós
  9. Proto-Italic*weizos
  10. Latinvīrus
  11. Middle Englishvirus
  12. Englishvirus
  13. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  14. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  15. Englishviral
  16. English todayantiviral

From anti- + viral.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.