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Virus qua word



Point of information: The plural of "virus" is "viruses".
(See the many quotations in OED2; also RHUD.) The Latin
etymon -- meaning poison, slime or filth -- has no plural.
Thus, the various Latin-sounding plurals that surface here
from time to time are ... ong-wray.

Interestingly(?), though virus is a second declension noun
(virus, viri...), its gender is neuter. (Second declension
nouns, ending in -us, are usually masculine.)

Regards,
Carl Distefano