Etymology

retroviral

R1E1T1R1O1V4I1R1A1L1

Today it means: Of or pertaining to a retrovirus Full definition →

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

  1. Proto-Italic*wre-
  2. Latinre-
  3. Latinretrō
  4. Englishretro-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*weys-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*wisós
  7. Proto-Italic*weizos
  8. Latinvīrus
  9. Middle Englishvirus
  10. Englishvirus
  11. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  13. Englishviral
  14. English todayretroviral

From retro- + viral.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.