I know I used to say "viri" (and write "virii") before I learned that I didn't need to do that to be "correct".Fair comment.
→ISBN #2 Knut Holt Said this on 2010-02-23 At 05:36 am The regular plural of virus would be virora. Consider a medical term imported or coined from Latin.
^ Tótfalusi, István. Viruses is probably correct in English usage. 34/95 p. 5. Viruses is the proper plural form for virus. Featured on Meta
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You can opt-out at any time. … English Language & Usage Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled Learn more about hiring developers or posting ads with us The Plural of Virus The plural of virus is viruses. — (Dictionnaire des sciences médicales, vol. Wiktionary offers the following usage notes: The plural is often believed to be viri or even virii, but neither is correct Latin and both are neologistic folk etymology.
COVID-19, which first appeared in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, is a more serious disease caused by the coronavirus, the AP notes. The plural of "coronavirus," then, is "coronaviruses," according to Merriam-Webster. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company It seems however that the form vira is used pretty much, and it sounds better than viruses. Some words' plurals end in -i even though they are not Latin, or that is not the Latin plural, e.g., octopi is sometimes used as a plural f… Start here for a quick overview of the site The verdict is: “The English plural of virus is viruses, not viri.” Merriam-Webster agrees, as does TheFreeDictionary. 6 XII 96 p. 1. In more general, commonly used, contexts, the plural form will be viruses. The noun virus can be countable or uncountable. Viruses are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth. Strictly "viruses" for an unmarked usage. „Un «virus» a deturnat cursa leu-dolar.” D. 147/95 p. 4; v. și R.l. English speakers -- who are not Latin speakers -- don't "know" declensions of Latin nouns. For more details, see our Virus definition, an ultramicroscopic (20 to 300 nanometers in diameter), metabolically inert, infectious agent that replicates only within the cells of living hosts, mainly bacteria, plants, and animals: composed of an RNA or DNA core, a protein coat, and, in more complex types, a surrounding envelope.
What are the "known" plurals of these words? The Overflow Blog That means its plural, if there were an attested ancient usage of virus in the plural, would have ended in an "-a," because neuter nouns in (ancient Greek and) Latin end in an "-a" in the plural nominative and accusative cases. She has been featured by NPR and National Geographic for her ancient history expertise.Understanding Latin's Third Declension Cases and EndingsGerman Adjective Endings: Nominative, Accusative, and Dative CasesHow to Decline Latin Demonstrative Pronouns: Hic, Ille, Iste, Is Idegenszó-tár: Idegen szavak értelmező és etimológiai szótára (’A Storehouse of Foreign Words: an explanatory and etymological dictionary of foreign words’). Viri equals men, or the plural form of vir ( man ). The plural virii, though common, is based on a misunderstanding of Latin. Stack Exchange network consists of 176 Q&A communities including In English, the plural form of words ending in -us, especially those derived from Latin, often replaces -us with -i. Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2005. 4. It only takes a minute to sign up.Speaking as a descriptivist, I would have to say that "virii" does indeed exist, in English rather than bad Latin, but only as a whimsical or jocular form (and particularly in an IT context). ♦ 3. virus \vi.ʁys\ masculin, singulier et pluriel identiques Agent infectieuxLa supposition d’un virus morbilleux et de la contagion de la rougeole conduisit un Anglais célèbre, le docteur Home, à tenter l’inoculation de cette maladie. a virus with shoes a virus, viruses (plural) anti-virus software bactérie et virus KO Budded virus Celui qui aura le virus pourra sûrement faire payer l’entrée Consensus strain (about virus) empecher la virus d'infecter Garanti sans virus connu Human Papilloma Virus I have caught a bad version of the cold/virus going around at the moment When those words escape medical-jargon into the language as a whole, then the plural will be a Latin plural.Some of those uses are whimsical or jocular and some are hypercorrection. If the medical community imports (or coins) the word AND its plural together, and use the Latin forms in English contexts, then we have two new English words. Shiny and New: I wholeheartedly agree, as does that Wikipedia article: "Even if the Latin plural were known, English speakers would not be obliged to use it". Detailed answers to any questions you might have The noun virus has a Latin root, but is one of the few nouns that has no plural in Latin.
Plus we are free, in English, to form plurals in the English way if we want :)@Mr. Viri is incorrect. But sometimes the word AND its plural WERE imported by the early users of the term.
It occurs only in the singular. Sursă a unui rău moral „Este vorba despre virusul care provoacă «intoxicarea» opiniei publice.” ♦ 3. There is no example of a plural for the word virus in Classical Latin. comments disabled on deleted / locked posts / reviews+1. Individual, physical particles are called "Chambers's Etymological Dictionary Enlarged Edition 1931June 1999 issue of ASM News by the American Society for Microbiology