What Prion stands for?

[CHRISTOPHER JAY LEONARD]

One answer that no one has mentioned [possibly even the correct one :-)]
is that it is spelled prION instead of proin so that the analagy to 
viruses is more obvious.

a single viral particle is called a virION

by appending the PRI prefix, one cobbles up a word that at 
once invokes protein, infectious and virions.  This is clearly in line 
with the Pruisner viewpoint.

cjl