virtualis

Virtualis is a Latin adjective used in historical and scientific contexts to denote relation to virtue, power, or potential. In classical Latin, the form appears as a participial adjective from virtus, with senses ranging from pertaining to power to indicating capability or possibility. In scholarly work, the word can appear in Latin phrases embedded in modern discussions of philosophy, logic, or natural history.

In taxonomy and nomenclature, virtualis may appear as a species or subspecific epithet in Latinized scientific names. As with other -alis adjectives, it agrees with the gender and number of the genus and can describe a feature deemed characteristic, even if it is not expressed in all specimens. Because the word is a Latin form rather than a modern taxonomic name, its exact use is context dependent and varies among authors.

In contemporary usage, the English adjective virtual, meaning not physically existing as such but made to appear, derives from the Latin virtualis. However, modern technical terms such as virtual reality and virtualization employ English roots rather than the Latin form. The term virtualis remains primarily of historical or philological interest and appears in scholarly editions of Latin texts and in lexical discussions of Latin grammar and etymology.

See also: virtual, virtual reality, virtualization, Latin adjectives.