328: influence Nov 1, 2015

'Influence' over time has changed meaning. In medieval Latin, the word 'influentia' meant ‘inflow’, and it ultimately comes from the Latin 'influere', meaning 'in' and 'flow'. The word originally had the connotation of ‘an influx', and in certain fields ‘the flowing in of ethereal fluid (affecting human destiny)’ [astrology]. The sense ‘imperceptible or indirect action exerted to cause changes’ was established in Scholastic Latin by the 13th century, but not recorded in English until the late 16th century.