[3] The name comes from the Latin partitius, which means divided, and refers to the segmented genome of partitiviruses.

[4][5] Viruses in the family Partitiviridae are non-enveloped with icosahedral geometries and T=1 symmetry.

Based on the RNA polymerase gene this group can be divided into four clades (I-IV).

Clades I–IV consist of mixtures of partitivirus-like sequences from plants and fungi.

[citation needed] There are five recognized genera within the Partitiviridae family.