Etymograph

English

afflate

Afflate comes from Latin afflō ‘to blow or breathe on or towards’, and goes back to flō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEflō1‘breathe, blow’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEafflō2‘to blow or breathe on or towards’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEafflātus2perfect passive participle of afflō
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1853afflate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin afflo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English afflate
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1853, George Cubitt, The Life of Martin Luther: “There was[…]a “spirit of courage” breathed into his [sc.…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEflōWiktionary, Latin afflo‘breathe, blow’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEafflōWiktionary, English afflate‘to blow or breathe on or towards’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEafflātusWiktionary, English afflateperfect passive participle of afflō
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1853afflateWiktionary, English afflate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1853, George Cubitt, The Life of Martin Luther: “There was[…]a “spirit of courage” breathed into his [sc.…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁-

blow, blast, bliss, bladder, flux, fluent, feeble, confluence, fluency, blithely, fluvial, blare, bleat, blather, 44 more

through Latin flō ‘breathe, blow’

inflation, flavor, inflate, flatulence, conflate, 17 more

Today it means

verb To fill, especially with divine inspiration.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “afflate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin afflo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin flō / afflate

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