slow virus
- noun
- Specialized
:
virus lento
- "He had then asserted a startling implication: "? A new virus which produces a persistent viraemia for life and causes a slow virus encephalopathy after a mean incubation period of many years would produce a self-sustaining epidemic.
Examples
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Researchers identified a slow virus that can remain dormant in the body for a long time.
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Slow virus infection and environmental factors have also been proposed.
Academic text (2007) -
Lentivirus (lenti-, Latin for "slow") is a genus of slow viruses of the Retroviridae family, characterized by a long incubation period.
Blog text (18) -
Lentivirus, known as a slow virus, may remain inactive for years before causing illness.
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The theory of slow viruses suggests they can take many years to trigger observable symptoms.
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is compositionally transparent: 'slow' (taking more time) modifies 'virus', so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer a virus that acts or develops symptoms slowly or after a long time. Although it is a technical medical term, the meaning follows normal adjective+noun semantics and is therefore readily derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Slow virus comes from the image of a virus that is slow, hiding or 'sleeping' in the body for years and only showing signs much later. So, the name means a virus that stays 'inactive' for a long time before 'symptoms' appear.