There does exist a Latin word virÄ«, meaning men (the plural of vir, a second declension masculine noun), but it has a short i in the first syllable.The difference in vowel quantity is reflected in the different pronunciations of the (Latin-derived) English words virile and viral.he-us singular form with an-i plural comes from Latin. However, the morphology of Latin nouns is complex and not every Latin word ending in-us pluralized in-i. The ones that did largely were from the second declension masculine.