variola minor virus
- noun
- /ˌværiˈoʊlə ˈmaɪnər ˈvaɪrəs/
- Specialized
:
virus de la variola menor
- Researchers studied the variola minor virus to understand why its fatality rate was lower than that of variola major.
Examples
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The variola minor virus caused outbreaks of a milder form of smallpox in South America and southern Africa.
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After the eradication of smallpox, the variola minor virus no longer occurs naturally in the population.
-
The variola minor virus is less deadly than its counterpart.
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In the past, outbreaks of variola minor viruses were recorded.
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After the eradication of smallpox, the variola minor virus no longer occurs naturally in the population.
-
Researchers studied the variola minor virus to understand why its fatality rate was lower than that of variola major.
-
The variola minor virus caused outbreaks of a milder form of smallpox in South America and southern Africa.
Synonyms
A mild form of smallpox with less severe symptoms
A mild type of smallpox that usually causes less severe sickness and few deaths
A mild form of smallpox caused by a weaker virus
A mild form of smallpox that makes people less sick than usual
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is fully compositional: 'variola' (the disease), 'minor' (less severe) and 'virus' combine to denote a less severe form of the variola virus. A B1 learner who knows each constituent would therefore be able to infer it refers to a less severe/smaller-severity smallpox virus (Alastrim), so the meaning is transparent.
Etymology
The name variola minor virus may come from Latin: variola referred to the pox spots the illness makes and minor means 'smaller'. That's why the name means the milder, 'less severe' form of the 'smallpox' virus.
