capsid

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈkæpsɪd/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(kap′sid)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
cap•sid1  (kap′sid),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Microbiologythe coiled or polyhedral structure, composed of proteins, that encloses the nucleic acid of a virus. Also called protein coat. 
  • French capside, equivalent. to Latin caps(a) case2 + -ide -id1
  • 1960–65

cap•sid2  (kap′sid),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. InsectsSee plant bug. 
  • Neo-Latin Capsidae, equivalent. to Caps(us) a genus (said to have been formed on Greek kápsis a gulping down; káp(tein) to gulp down + -sis -sis) + -idae -id2

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
capsid /ˈkæpsɪd/ n
  1. any heteropterous bug of the family Miridae (formerly Capsidae), most of which feed on plant tissues, causing damage to crops
Etymology: 19th Century: from New Latin Capsus (genus)
capsid /ˈkæpsɪd/ n
  1. the outer protein coat of a mature virus
Etymology: 20th Century: from French capside, from Latin capsa box
'capsid' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
capsomere - coat protein - coronavirus - nucleocapsid - plant bug - poliovirus - protein coat - reovirus

Forum discussions with the word(s) "capsid" in the title:


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