coronavirus

noun
/kəˈɹəʊnəˌvaɪɹəs/UK/kəˈɹoʊnəˌvaɪɹəs/US

Etymology

From corona (“crown-like circle of light appearing around the sun”) + virus. Corona is derived from Latin corōna (“garland, wreath; crown”), from Ancient Greek κορώνη (korṓnē, “something curved; curved stern of a ship; end, point, tip”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”). The name refers to the characteristic appearance of its virions by electron microscopy, which have a fringe of surface projections creating an image reminiscent of a solar corona. Compare the former genus name Coronavirus.

  1. derived from *(s)ker- — “to bend, turn
  2. derived from κορώνη — “something curved; curved stern of a ship; end, point, tip
  3. derived from corōna — “garland, wreath; crown

Definitions

  1. A member of the family Coronaviridae, comprising viruses which infect animals and human…

    A member of the family Coronaviridae, comprising viruses which infect animals and human beings, and the genome of which consists of a single strand of RNA.

    • This characteristic structural resemblance and other shared properties of these viruses have caused certain virologists to propose the name coronavirus for this previously unrecognized group.
  2. An illness caused by a coronavirus.

  3. Alternative letter-case form of coronavirus (“the virus SARS-CoV-2 or the disease…

    Alternative letter-case form of coronavirus (“the virus SARS-CoV-2 or the disease COVID-19”).

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for coronavirus. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA