Flatus
/ˈfleɪ.təs/noun
The expulsion of gas from the digestive tract through the anus.
Did you know?Flatus comes from the same Latin root as words for blowing and breath, showing how ancient languages often treated bodily gas as just another kind of invisible wind.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰleh₁-
“to blow, breathe”
Latin
Latin
flare
“to blow, breathe out”
Latin
Latin
flatus
“a blowing, breath, puff of wind”
Late Latin / Medical Latin
Latin
flatus
“intestinal gas; flatulence”
Modern English
English
flatus
“intestinal gas expelled from the body”