virulence (n.)

1660s, from Late Latin virulentia, from Latin virulentus "full of poison" (see virulent). Related: Virulency (1610s).

also from 1660s

Entries linking to virulence

c. 1400, in reference to wounds, ulcers, etc., "full of corrupt or poisonous matter," from Latin virulentus "poisonous," from virus "poison" (see virus). Figurative sense of "violent, spiteful" is attested from c. 1600. Related: Virulently.

Trends of virulence

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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exacerbation

"act of exacerbating; state of being exacerbated; increase of violence or virulence, aggravation," c. 1400, exacerbacioun...

pun

Like other diseases, it broke out again subsequently with redoubled virulence, and made great havoc in the reign of Queen...

hostility

early 15c., hostilite, "hostile action," from Old French hostilité "enmity" (15c.), or directly from Late Latin hostilitatem (nominative hostilitas) "enmity," from Latin hostilis "inimical," from hostis, in earlier use "a stranger, foreigner," in classical use "an enemy," from PI

cowboy

1725, "boy who tends to cows and drives them to and from pasture," from cow (n.) + boy. American-English sense of "man employed to have care of grazing cattle on the Great Plains for a stockman or ranch, doing his work on horseback" is by 1849. Earlier it was an insulting name fo

eminent

early 15c., "standing or rising above other places; exceeding other things in quality or degree;" from Old French éminent "prominent" (13c.) or directly from Latin eminentem (nominative eminens) "standing out, projecting, prominent, high," figuratively "distinguished, distinctive

Philistine

one of the Old Testament people of coastal Palestine who made war on the Israelites, early 14c., from Old French Philistin, from Late Latin Philistinus, from Late Greek Philistinoi (plural), from Hebrew P'lishtim, "people of P'lesheth" ("Philistia"); compare Akkadian Palastu, Egy

adventure

c. 1200, aventure, auenture "that which happens by chance, fortune, luck," from Old French aventure (11c.) "chance, accident, occurrence, event, happening," from Latin adventura (res) "(a thing) about to happen," from fem. of adventurus, future participle of advenire "to come to,

evil

Old English yfel (Kentish evel) "bad, vicious, ill, wicked," from Proto-Germanic *ubilaz (source also of Old Saxon ubil, Old Frisian and Middle Dutch evel, Dutch euvel, Old High German ubil, German übel, Gothic ubils), from PIE *upelo-, from root *wap- "bad, evil" (source also of

sincere

1530s, "pure, unmixed, unadulterated;" also "free from pretense or falsehood," from French sincere (16c.), from Latin sincerus, of things, "whole, clean, pure, uninjured, unmixed," figuratively "sound, genuine, pure, true, candid, truthful" (unadulterated by deceit), a word of un

fresh

c. 1200, fresh, also fersh, "unsalted; pure; sweet; eager;" the modern form is a metathesis of Old English fersc, of water, "not salt, unsalted," itself transposed from Proto-Germanic *friskaz (source also of Old Frisian fersk, Middle Dutch versch, Dutch vers, Old High German fri

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updated on September 28, 2017

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Dictionary entries near virulence

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