Disease Etymology II - Under the Influence

The Current Unpleasantness is without precedent in our life times but has some analogs in past Influenza epidemics.  1918 struck with a ferocity nobody saw coming.  Ever since we've been nervously worrying that it might hit us that hard again.  So we've devoted a lot of resources to vaccines, medications, surveillance, etc.

Influenza is another very interesting word, so much so that to clip it down to "flu" is a grave disservice.

I have to confess this one surprised me a bit.  I had assumed that the term only went back as far as 1918.  That bug got called Spanish Influenza not because it had much to do with Spain but simply because the news media there were able to report it without the wartime censorship of other nations.  Influenza sounds vaguely Spanish so I assumed the term began there.

Oh goodness no.  It goes much farther back and is of Italian origin.  Tracing words is a bit like tracing epidemics.

At least as far back as the early 1500's the term influenza is used in reference to diseases.  This was on the basis of then prevalent thinking that there were astrological "influences" of the stars and planets on such matters.

It comes from the Latin influentia, meaning to stream outward from.  Astral influences will sorta do that I guess.

 Oddly the word "fluent" which sounds the same and also implies a sort of "flowing" seems to have different roots altogether.  Go figure.