flu

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A common illness like a bad cold, with fever, aches, and tiredness, caused by a virus.

   I caught the flu and had to stay in bed for a week.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Flu is a mid-19th-century shortening of influenza. The longer word came from Italian influenza, “influence,” which had also developed the senses “outbreak of an epidemic” and “epidemic.”

Clipping of influenza.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary