I. ˈvīˌrȯid noun
( -s )
Etymology: New Latin vir us + English -oid, n. suffix
: a hypothetical viruslike symbiont favorable to the host but tending to mutate to the virus form
II. adjective
Etymology: New Latin vir us + English -oid, adjective suffix
1. : caused by a virus
viroid pneumonia
2. : of or relating to viroids
III. noun
: any of several causative agents of plant disease that consist solely of a single-stranded RNA of low molecular weight arranged in a closed loop or a linear chain