influenza
/ˌɪn.fluˈɛn.zə/ noun
Forms influenzas influenze
- noun (pathology) An acute contagious disease of the upper airways and lungs, caused by a virus, which rapidly spreads around the world in seasonal epidemics.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian influenza (“influence”), from Latin influentia. Doublet of influence.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An epidemic affection characterized by acute nasal catarrh, or by inflammation of the throat or the bronchi, and usually accompanied by fever.
Etymology [It. influenza influence, an epidemic formerly attributed by astrologers to the influence of the heavenly bodies, influenza. See Influence.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “influenza”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details