filterable virus

noun

1. a virus particle small enough to pass through a filter of diatomaceous earth or porcelain, which will not pass bacteria: chiefly historical or an informal indicator of size, as synthetic membrane filters now permit passage of the smallest virus.

Word History and Origins

Origin of filterable virus¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

"What caused my clear spots," he wrote, "was in fact an invisible microbe, a filterable virus, but a virus parasitic on bacteria."

From Time Magazine Archive

Medical texts of the period were studded with such notations as: "The cause of this disease is believed to be a filterable virus, but has not been isolated," Virology needed new foundations to build on.

From Time Magazine Archive

In 1897 he concluded that this infectious, filter-passing fluid was a "filterable virus."

From Time Magazine Archive

No one has ever isolated a microbe or filterable virus which could be shown to cause common colds.

From Time Magazine Archive

In 1905 Carre announced but did not prove that distemper is caused by a filterable virus.

From Time Magazine Archive