Orbiviruses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Viruses belonging to the genus Orbivirus, which are spread between hosts by biting insects such as midges and ticks
2. Arthropod-borne viruses in the genus Orbivirus that infect livestock and wildlife after transmission by biting vectors
3. A group of RNA viruses classed as Orbivirus that cause diseases like bluetongue and are carried by blood-feeding insects

Etymology: "Orbiviruses" is the plural of "orbivirus", a term for a group of viruses that are transmitted by biting insects such as midges, mosquitoes and ticks. The name comes from the genus of the same name, which was created by scientists to group these viruses together. The form is a compound of "orbi-", a coined element built from the Latin "orbis", meaning "circle" or "ring", and "virus", which is itself Latin for "poison" or "slimy liquid". The "orbi" part is thought to refer to the ring-shaped structure seen in the viral particles when they are examined under the microscope, though the exact choice of the prefix is not something the record spells out in detail.