Inflation
/ɪnˈfleɪ.ʃən/noun
A general rise in prices and fall in the purchasing power of money.
Did you know?Inflation comes from Latin inflatio, meaning a swelling or puffing up, from inflare, literally “to blow into,” so the word’s oldest life was about air, breath, and expansion — not money.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰleu-
“to blow, swell”
Latin
Latin
flāre
“to blow”
Latin
Latin
inflare
“to blow into; to puff up”
Late Latin
Latin
inflātiō
“a swelling, puffing up”
Middle English
English
inflacioun
“a swelling or distension”
Modern English
English
inflation
“a general rise in prices”