Etymology

from the Ancient Greek σχίζω (skhízō) meaning "split" and Mimiviridae, referring to the evolutionary relationship of viruses in the two families; the suffix -viridae for family taxa

from pithoviruses, iridoviruses, marseilleviruses and ascoviruses, members of the taxon; the suffix -virales for order taxa

phonetically from the Ancient Greek ἀσκός (askós), meaning "tube" or “sac”, referring to the virion-containing vesicles produced by cleavage of host cells, which are characteristic for viruses of this family; the suffix -viridae for family taxa

from the French cédrat, a type of lemon, referring to the morhology of virions of viruses in the family; the suffix ‑viridae for family taxa

from Iris (iridos), the daughter of mythological Greek gods, whose sign was the rainbow, referring to the iridescent appearance of invertebrates infected with viruses of the family as well as centrifuged pellets of virions; the suffix -viridae for family taxa

from Marseille, the French city where Marseillevirus marseillevirus, a member of the family, was discovered; the suffix -viridae for family taxa

from Orpheus, a Thracian musician, poet and prophet in Greek mythology, and the addition of the vowel o; the suffix ‑viridae for family taxa. Connection uncertain

from Ancient Greek πίθος (píthos) a large container, referring to the morphology of virions of viruses in the family; the suffix ‑viridae for family taxa

from the Japanese mamono (魔物), meaning “monster”, referring to the term "giant" used to describe the genome and virions of viruses in the family; the suffix -viridae for family taxa

from the Middle English pokkes, meaning "pox", referring to the disease manifestation associated with some viruses in the taxon suffix -viricetes for class taxa

from Asfarviridae and "faustovirus" (a likely member of the order together with "pacmanviruses" and "kaumoebaviruses"); the suffix -virales for order taxa

from African swine fever and related viruses; the suffix -viridae for family taxa

from the name of a higher-rank taxon for poxviruses proposed by Lwoff and Tournier in 1966 (“Chitovirales”; from the Greek χιτών, (khitōn), a tunic garment, referring to the morphological structure of poxviruses); the suffix -virales for order taxa

from the Old English poc, meaning “pustule”, referring to the disease pox associated with some viruses of the family; the suffix -viridae for family taxa

from "precursor of certain plasmids", referring to the evolutionary relationship between viviricetessome viruses in the taxa and some plasmids; the suffix -viricota for phylum taxa

from the Finnish ainoa, meaning "only" or "single", referring to the single-stranded DNA genome of viruses in this taxon; the suffix -viricetes for class taxa

to honor Jaana K.H. Bamford (nee Lautamo) who established phage research at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland; the suffix -virales for order taxa

from Finnish and lake, referring to the location where Flavobacterium phage FLiP, a member of the family, was isolated; the suffix -viridae for family taxa

a reference to maviruses, members of the taxon that share many features with the large, virus-like transposons of the Maverick/Polinton superfamily; the suffix -viricetes for class taxa

from divergent penton proteins, referring to the exceptional genome organisation of members of the taxon; the suffix ‑viricetes for class taxa

from rumen virophages, referring to the source of members in the family; the suffix ‑viridae for family taxa

from large virus dependent or associated, referring to the dependence on, or association with, a large dsDNA virus of the family Mimiviridae; the suffix -virales for order taxa

from Maverick-related virus and the suffix -viro, referring to the first isolated member of the taxon; the suffix ‑viridae for family taxa

from Mimivirus dependent or associated, referring to the replication of taxon members in association with a mimivirus; the suffix ‑virales for order taxa

from Sputnik virus 1, and the addition of the vowel o, referring to the first isolated member of the family; the suffix ‑viridae for family taxa

from the Lithuanian priklausomas, meaning "dependent", a reference to the family Lavidaviridae (large virus dependent associated) a member of the taxon; the suffix -virales for order taxa

from Mary Burton Gulliver, the wife of Lemuel Gulliver in Gulliver’s Travels (a novel by Jonathon Swift) and the addition of the suffix -viro, referring to members of the family as most closely related to the large virophages; the suffix ‑viridae for family taxa

from Dishui Lake in China, where the first member of the family, Chlorella virophage isolate SW01, was obtained and the addition of the suffix -viro, referring to members of the family as related to the large virophages; the suffix ‑viridae for family taxa

from Lemuel Gulliver, the main character of Gulliver’s Travels (a novel by Jonathon Swift) and the addition of the suffix -viro, referring to members of the family as “giant" virophages but still relatively small compared to their associated giant viruses; the suffix ‑viridae for family taxa

from the Latin omni meaning “all or everywhere”, the Ancient Greek λίμνη (límnē) meaning "lake" and the addition of the suffix -viro, referring to  freshwater environments, since members of this virophage family were detected across a broad geographic range of freshwater lakes; the suffix ‑viridae for family taxa

from the initial naming of adintoviruses as polinton “transposons", referring to the type B DNA polymerase (PolB) and retrovirus-like integrase genes encoded by members of the taxon; the suffix -viricetes for class taxa

from the Ancient Greek ὀρθός (orthós), meaning "proper", and the initial naming of adintoviruses as polinton "transposons", referencing the type B DNA polymerase (PolB) and retrovirus-like integrase genes encoded by members of the taxon; the suffix -virales for order taxa

from the similarity of members of the family to adenoviruses, the presence of an active, virus-encoded integrase gene and the addition of the vowel o; the suffix -viridae for family taxa

from tectivirid-like, referring to viruses of the family Tectiviridae; the suffix -viricetes for class taxa

from Atropos, one of the three Fates in Greek mythology, equivalent to Norns in Norse mythology; the suffix -virales for order taxa; connection unclear

from Skuld, one of the three Norns, the most powerful beings in Norse mythology that govern the lives of gods and mortals; the suffix -viridae for family taxa; connection unclear

from belfry, a tower (turret), referencing the turret-like appendages that decorate the capsid shell of viruses in this taxon; the suffix -virales for order taxa

from the Latin turris, meanimg "turret", referring to the turreted structure of the icosahedral virion of viruses in the family; the suffix -viridae for family taxa

from Coyopa, the god of thunder in Mayan mythology; the suffix -virales for order taxa; connection unclear

from Chaac, the god of rain in Mayan mythology; the suffix -viridae for family taxa; connection unclear

from Kalamazoo, USA, where Pseudomonas phage PRD1 a member of the taxon was first isolated ; the suffix -virales for order taxa

from the Latin tectus, meaning "covered",  referring to a lipid envelope covering the DNA compartment and separating the genomic DNA from a protein capsid in viruses of the family; the suffix -viridae for family taxa

to honour Wallace P. Rowe, one of the co-discoverers of adenoviruses in 1953, with the addition of the vowel a; the suffix -virales for order taxa

from adenoid, the tissue where adenoviruses, originally named adenoid degeneration viruses, were discoverd in 1953; the suffix -viridae for family taxa

from Viña del Mar, Chile, where phage PM2, a member of the taxon, was first isolated; the suffix -virales for order taxa

derived from the Latin cortex, meaning “crust” or “bark”, referring to the protective layer of the capsid protein in virions of viruses in the family ; the suffix -viridae for family taxa

from Autolykos, a Greek mythological character, who was described as being difficult to catch; the suffix -viridae for family taxa; connection unclear

from Yara, the mother of waters, a  mythological character of the Tupi indigenous people of Brazil; the suffix -viridae for family taxa; connection unclear

from the Latin helvetia meaning "Swiss", a referring to the Swiss roll (an alternative name for jelly roll) and hence a reference to the jelly roll fold of the capsid proteins of viruses in this taxon; the suffix -virae for kingdom taxa

from the Esperanto divido, meaning "division", referring to the split double jelly roll (two vertical single jelly roll) major capsid protein encoded by viruses in this taxon; the suffix -viricota for phylum taxa