WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Vi"rus
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [L., a slimy liquid, a poisonous liquid, poison, stench; akin to Gr. visha. Cf. Wizen, v. i.]
Definition : 1. (Med.) (a) Contagious or poisonous matter, as of specific ulcers, the bite of snakes, etc.; -- applied to organic poisons. (b) The special contagion, inappreciable to the senses and acting in exceedingly minute quantities, by which a disease is introduced into the organism and maintained there.

Note: The specific virus of diseases is now regarded as a microscopic living vegetable organism which multiplies within the body, and, either by its own action or by the associated development of a chemical poison, causes the phenomena of the special disease.

2. Fig.: Any morbid corrupting quality in intellectual or moral conditions; something that poisons the mind or the soul; as, the virus of obscene books.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913