I heard on some NPR thing that all the current flu bugs are mutations from the century-old pandemic, suggesting that influenza wasn't so common back then that it had a nickname. It would be interesting to see a liguists's take on it.
1839, flue, shortening of influenza. Spelling flu attested from 1893. The abstraction of the middle syllable is an uncommon method of shortening words in English; Weekley compares tec for detective, scrip for subscription.
(But who sez "tec" for detective? and isn't a scrip a prescription? at least these days?) (Makes you maybe not want to be a Weekley reader.) (hahahaha)
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1839, flue, shortening of influenza. Spelling flu attested from 1893. The abstraction of the middle syllable is an uncommon method of shortening words in English; Weekley compares tec for detective, scrip for subscription.
(But who sez "tec" for detective? and isn't a scrip a prescription? at least these days?) (Makes you maybe not want to be a Weekley reader.) (hahahaha)
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