coronavirus

[kuh-roh-nuh-vahy-ruh s]

noun, plural co·ro·na·vi·rus·es.

any of various RNA-containing spherical viruses of the family Coronaviridae, including several that cause acute respiratory illnesses.

Origin of coronavirus

First recorded in 1965–70; so called from the coronalike array of spikes projecting from the capsid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for coronavirus

Contemporary Examples of coronavirus

His doctors found a new virus in his respiratory secretions—a coronavirus, of the same family of viruses that causes SARS.
Hajj Health Scare: Could a New Virus Spread?
Kent Sepkowitz
October 12, 2012
And he too was subsequently found to have coronavirus—in fact the same strain as the first patient.
Hajj Health Scare: Could a New Virus Spread?
Kent Sepkowitz
October 12, 2012

British Dictionary definitions for coronavirus

coronavirus

noun

a type of airborne virus accounting for 10-30% of all colds

Word Origin for coronavirus

C20: so-called because of their corona-like appearance in electron micrographs

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for coronavirus

coronavirus

[kə-rō′nə-vī′rəs]

n.

Any of various single-stranded, RNA-containing viruses that cause respiratory infection in humans and resemble a crown when viewed under an electron microscope because of their petal-shaped projections.