インフルエンザ
解説 Definition
インフルエンザとは、ウイルス感染による高熱や全身の痛みを伴う呼吸器疾患です。冬季に流行しやすく、咳やくしゃみで感染する伝染病です。
Flu is a common short form of influenza, an illness caused by a virus. It usually gives people a fever, cough, sore throat, and body pain. In everyday English, people often use this word when talking about being sick during flu season.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
flu は influenza の略語だとまず押さえると、見た瞬間に「病名の短縮」と判断しやすい。覚える軸は cold との対比で、cold は軽い風邪、flu は高熱・関節痛・強いだるさで寝込む重い感染症。have the flu / get the flu / flu season / flu shot をまとめて覚えると記憶に残る。特に the flu と言いやすいこと、単なる cough ではなく数日生活が止まるレベルの体調不良を連想すると定着しやすい。
Remember that `flu` is the short form of `influenza`. It is useful to store it next to `cold`: a cold sounds lighter, but the flu sounds like the kind of illness that stops your normal life. Fixed phrases such as `have the flu`, `get the flu`, `flu season`, and `flu shot` make it easy to recognize.
例文
Many people get the flu during winter months.
冬の間、多くの人がインフルエンザにかかる。
The flu vaccine can help prevent serious illness.
インフルエンザワクチンは重い病気を防ぐのに役立つ。
He was absent from work because he had the flu.
彼はインフルエンザにかかったため仕事を休んだ。
flu の類義語・関連語
紛らわしい語
flu の語源・成り立ち Etymology
flu は influenza の短縮形で、英語へはイタリア語 influenza（影響）から入り、さらに中世ラテン語 influentia にさかのぼります。昔は流行病を星の「影響」のせいと考えたためで、influence や influenza が同根です。
Flu is a shortened form of influenza, which English borrowed from Italian. The Italian word originally meant "influence" and goes back to Medieval Latin influentia, related to influence. It came from an old belief that epidemics were caused by the influence of the stars, and later the short form flu became common for the illness.
外部辞書で調べる
この単語を英単語クイズで覚えよう