Herpesviridae

Her·pes·vi·ri·dae

noun pl \-ˈvir-ə-ˌdē\

Definition of HERPESVIRIDAE

: a family of double-stranded DNA viruses that consist of a spherical virion having the DNA packaged in a liquid crystalline array in a central core surrounded by an icosahedral capsid, an amorphous layer of proteins, and an envelope consisting of a lipid bilayer closely associated with the amorphous protein layer and that include the cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus and the causative agents of chicken pox, equine coital exanthema, herpes simplex, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, infectious laryngotracheitis, malignant catarrhal fever, Marek's disease, pseudorabies, rhinopneumonitis, roseola infantum, and shingles—see simplexvirus, varicellovirus