DictionaryRoot: ad-
Latin

ad-

to, toward; addition; sometimes emphasis

Forms

  • ad-
  • ac- — Used before c in Latin.
  • af- — Used before f in Latin.
  • ag- — Used before g in Latin.
  • al- — Used before l in Latin.
  • ap- — Used before p in Latin.
  • ar- — Used before r in Latin.
  • as- — Used before s in Latin.
  • at- — Used before t in Latin.

Origin

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *ad, ‘to; near.’

Note

Later Latin-based spellings sometimes restored consonants that had disappeared in French.

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noun

afflatus

uh-FLAY-tus/əˈfleɪtəs/

A sudden burst of creative or poetic inspiration.

An afflatus strikes the composer, who begins writing at the piano.

Composer suddenly brightens and begins writing music at a piano; no visible writing, page angled away, expressive hand and face.
Etymology

The literal image is a blowing or breathing upon someone. Latin already used this figuratively for inspiration, connecting a creative impulse with the idea of receiving supernatural knowledge or power.

More examples

  • She waits for afflatus, but the poem remains unfinished.
  • A walk through the woods brings an afflatus that inspires his next painting.
  • He revises the melody long after the first afflatus fades.

Forms

afflatus · afflatuses

Similar words

inspiration
Inspiration is broader and need not arrive suddenly.
brainstorm
Brainstorm suggests a sudden useful idea rather than artistic inspiration.