In Italian the word influenza means “influence”. This refers to the influence people believed the sun, moon, planets and stars had on human affairs, including health and disease. The English started using the word in the 1700s, and it has since become abbreviated to “flu”. The Afrikaans word “griep” and the German “Grippe” come from the French “la grippe”, which suggests something that “grips or grasps” you. (http://bit.ly/2Vnjtv3)