Virulence
/ˈvjʊə.rʊ.ləns/noun
The severity or harmfulness of a disease or poison.
Did you know?Virulence comes from Latin virulentus, meaning “full of poison,” built on virus, which in Classical Latin meant a poisonous slime or venom—not a harmless “virus” in the modern biological sense.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
virulentus
“poisonous; full of venom”
Latin
Latin
virus
“poison, venom, slimy liquid”
Late Latin
Latin
virulentia
“poisonous quality; virulence”
16th Century
English
virulence
“poisonousness; extreme harmfulness, especially of disease”