filterable virus

American  

noun

1. a virus particle small enough to pass through a filter of diatomaceous earth or porcelain, which will not pass bacteria: chiefly historical or an informal indicator of size, as synthetic membrane filters now permit passage of the smallest virus.

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Etymology

Origin of filterable virus

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

"What caused my clear spots," he wrote, "was in fact an invisible microbe, a filterable virus, but a virus parasitic on bacteria."

From Time Magazine Archive

In 1897 he concluded that this infectious, filter-passing fluid was a "filterable virus."

From Time Magazine Archive

Medical texts of the period were studded with such notations as: "The cause of this disease is believed to be a filterable virus, but has not been isolated," Virology needed new foundations to build on.

From Time Magazine Archive

Said the investigators: "The outbreak . . . was due to a filterable virus and spread through contact infection."

From Time Magazine Archive

The specific cause of foot-and-mouth disease is a filterable virus that is present in the serum from the vesicles, the saliva, milk, and various body secretions and excretions from the sick animal.

From Common Diseases of Farm Animals by Craig, R. A., D. V. M.