INFLUEN'ZA, noun An epidemic catarrh. The influenza of October and November, 1789, and that of April and May, 1790, were very general or universal in the United States, and unusually severe. A like influenza prevailed in the winters of 1825 and 1826.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI