On Mon, 31 Mar 2003 16:21:08 -0500, Samuel W. Heywood wrote: > Strictly speaking, "virus" is a very scientific term. It is the > Linnaean taxonomical term derived from Latin and used for referring > to a particular class of micro-organisms. In Latin "virii" would be > the plural form. The scientific community has a fetish for > conserving proper Latin constructs. If you were speaking with > bio-medical scientists "virri" would be the most preferred and > acceptable form of the plural.
Maybe you should ask your doctor! Strictly speaking you are completely wrong. In Latin "virii" is the plural of "vir" not of "virus". "Virus" is of a class of nouns that do not have plural forms in Latin. Please read about it here: http://www.perl.com/language/misc/virus.html "Virus" was adapted into the English language around the 12th Century and the plural form as given by the Oxford English Dictionary, the Cambridge University Encyclopedia of the English Language, Fowler's Modern English Usage, and many other authoritative sources is "viruses". You can read all about it in detail at the website noted above. Sam Ewalt Croswell, Michigan, USA -- Arachne V1.70;rev.3, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://arachne.cz/
