Myxovirus
/ˌmɪksoʊˈvaɪrəs/noun
A former grouping of RNA viruses, especially influenza viruses and related respiratory viruses.
Did you know?Although once widely used for influenza and paramyxoviruses, “myxovirus” is now largely obsolete because modern virology classifies these viruses more precisely by evolutionary relationships.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*meug-
“To slime, be slippery, or produce mucus; the proposed ancestral root behind Greek myxa and Latin mucus.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
μύξα (myxa)
“Nasal mucus or bodily slime.”
Classical Latin
Latin
virus
“Poison, venom, or a noxious fluid; it did not originally mean a microscopic infectious agent.”
Late 19th Century
Scientific English
virus
“An infectious agent, after advances in germ theory and microscopy broadened the word’s meaning.”
20th Century
Scientific English
myxovirus
“A classification name formed from Greek myxa, “mucus,” and virus, used for certain RNA viruses associated with respiratory secretions.”
Modern English
English
myxovirus
“A largely historical or obsolete term for influenza viruses and related respiratory RNA viruses.”