Meanings
virial1
- not comparableengineeringOf or pertaining to the interactive forces between molecules or particles.
plural virials
- engineeringOne-half of the product of the stress of attraction or repulsion with the distance between two particles.
The quantity 1/2 Rr, or half the product of the attraction into the distance across which the attraction is exerted, is defined by Clausis [Prof. Clausis of Bonn] as the virial of the attraction. (In the case of pressure or repulsion, the virial is negative.)
1875, James Clerk Maxwell, “On the Dynamical Evidence of the Molecular Constitution of Bodies”, in Nature, 11 (1875), 357-359, 374-377
virial2
- misspellingnot comparableMisspelling of viral.
Origin
- Latinvīs
- Englishvirial
From Latin vīs (vīs has a hidden "r" that shows in forms such as the genitive plural, vīrium).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
virial. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/virial
“virial.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/virial. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “virial,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/virial.
Source: virial on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.