As a Noun: 1. A virus identified in 2019, named COVID-19 (= COrona Virus Disease of 2019). Some people infected with the virus develop severe problems with their lungs. The virus is often known as the coronavirus. “Corona” means “crown” in Latin because the tiny spikes that stick out of the virus look like the top of a crown when you look at it under a microscope, hence this iconic form of the sign for the virus. English = COVID-19, coronavirus. Note: 1. This is a new sign in Auslan and related sign languages (BSL and NZSL) as well as ASL. Its exact origin is uncertain, but it appeared early in the pandemic on social media and interpreted news reports on television and was adopted rapidly by deaf communities in many countries.