influenza (English)

Where does "influenza" come from?

The English noun 'influenza' was borrowed from Italian 'influenza'[1], meaning 'influence'[1], which derived from the Latin form 'influentia'[1]. This Latin source is built from the root 'īnfluent-' combined with the suffix '-ia'[3]. Through this historical path, the English term shares a common origin with the doublet 'influence'[1].

Full etymology tree

• influenza (English), 'An acute contagious disease of the upper airways and lungs, caused by a virus, which rapidly spreads around the world in seasonal epidemics.'
  • borrowed influenza (Italian), 'influence'
    • derived influentia (Latin), 'influence'

Ancestors

• influenza (Italian)
• influentia (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

• influence (English)

Descendants and derived words

• ইনফ্লুয়েঞ্জা (Bengali)
• affluenza (English)
• Asian influenza (English)
• avian influenza (English)
• Hong Kong influenza (English)
• influenzal (English)
• influenzalike (English)
• influenzavirus (English)
• Mexican influenza (English)
• parainfluenza (English)
• postinfluenza (English)
• Spanish influenza (English)

Sources

1. influenza (English) - Wiktionary
2. influenza (Italian) - Wiktionary
3. influentia (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris