influenza

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A common infectious illness caused by a virus, with fever, aches, and a cough; the flu.

   He caught influenza and stayed in bed for a week.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Influenza entered English from Italian during the European epidemic of 1743 and became a general name for this respiratory infection. Italian influenza meant “influence” and, by extension, “an epidemic”; it derives ultimately from Latin fluere, “to flow.”

From Italian influenza (“influence”), from Latin influentia. Doublet of influence.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary