Flu

/fluː/ noun

Definition

A contagious viral illness that causes fever, body aches, and coughing, and usually lasts a few days to a week.

Etymology

Short for 'influenza', from Italian 'influenza' meaning 'influence', from Latin 'influentia'. People thought an astrological influence caused the disease in the 1700s.

Kelly Says

Flu pandemics have changed history—the 1918 Spanish Flu killed 50 million people worldwide in just months, more than World War I itself, yet it's less remembered because it was overshadowed by the war happening at the same time.

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