I Just Learned What ‘Influenza’ Originally Meant, And I’d Never Have Guessed
After all, the word has been clipped from its original form (influenza) since the mid-1900s, decades after its origin. It’s gone by “the flu” since at least 1839 (spelled “the Flue” at first), a century or so after it entered the English lexicon, says Merriam-Webster.
Article source: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/influenza-word-history-meaning_uk_6aabf70fe4b05a5eaee3f79d