Inundate
/ˈɪn.ʌn.deɪt/noun
To flood or overwhelm with a great quantity of something.
Did you know?Inundate comes from Latin in- (“in”) + undare (“to surge, wave”), from unda (“wave”), so its oldest sense is a violent rushing-in of water, not just “a lot of emails.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wed-
“to wet, water”
Latin
Latin
unda
“a wave”
Latin
Latin
undare
“to surge, rise in waves”
Late Latin
Latin
inundare
“to overflow, flood”
Middle French
Old French
inonder
“to flood, deluge”
Late Middle English
English
inundaten
“to flood or submerge”
Modern English
English
inundate
“to flood or overwhelm with a large amount of something”