Etymograph

English

influence

Influence comes from Old French influence, from Medieval Latin īnfluentia, from Latin īnfluēns ‘flowing in’, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlewH- ‘to overflow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰlewH-1‘to overflow’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfluō1‘to flow’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfluō2‘to flow into’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfluēns2‘flowing into’present active participle of īnfluō
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500īnfluentia2
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400influence3‘inundation; influence’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500influence3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1943influence3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin influo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French influence
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English influence
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1943, – 1944 February, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair]: “The animals were thoroughly frightened. It seemed to them…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰlewH-Wiktionary, Latin influo‘to overflow’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfluōWiktionary, Latin influo‘to flow’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfluōWiktionary, Old French influence‘to flow into’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfluēnsWiktionary, Old French influence‘flowing into’present active participle of īnfluō
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500īnfluentiaWiktionary, Old French influence
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400influenceWiktionary, English influence‘inundation; influence’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500influenceWiktionary, English influence
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1943influenceWiktionary, English influence. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1943, – 1944 February, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair]: “The animals were thoroughly frightened. It seemed to them…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with influence, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰluH-yé-ti

  • fluidity ← fluidité ← fluiditās ← fluidus ← fluō
  • confluent ← cōnfluēns ← cōnfluō ← fluō

through Latin fluō ‘to flow’

55 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun The power to affect, control or manipulate something or someone; the ability to change the development of fluctuating things such as conduct, thoughts or decisions.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “influence”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin influo, Old French influence. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *bʰlewH- / influence