• afflatus (n.): an impulse of creative power or inspiration, esp. in poetry, considered to be of divine origin (esp. in the phrase ‘divine afflatus’). [C17: Latin, from afflātus, from afflāre, ‘to breathe or blow on’, from flāre, ‘to blow’]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary).

• afflatus (n.): inspiration, esp. as a result of divine communication. [1655-65; from Latin afflātus, ‘a breathing on’, ‘inspiration’, from aflā(re), ‘to breathe on’, ‘emit’, from af- + flāre, ‘to blow²’ + -tus, suffix of verbal action]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary).

• afflatus (n.): a strong creative impulse; divine inspiration; [e.g.]: “divine afflatus”; inspiration (arousal of the mind to special unusual activity or creativity). ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0).

• afflatus (n.): divine guidance and motivation imparted directly; (synonym): inspiration. ~ (American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus).

• afflatus (n.): 1. (rare or unused): a blowing or breathing on, as of wind; a breath or blast of wind; 2. an impelling mental force acting from within; supernal impulse or power, as of prophecy or expression; religious, poetic, or oratorical inspiration; often spoken of as the divine afflatus, a translation of the Latin afflatus divinus, inspiration; [e.g.]: “I know not how far this was the case [his Muse in a good humour] with Mr. Pope, in this performance, but wherever it was, the poet will be little more than a common man; he is, at such times, much the same as a prophet without his afflatus”. (Joseph Spence, 1699-1768, “An Essay on Pope’s Odyssey”, Evening III, 1726-27; pp. 148-149). [Latin afflatus, adflatus, afflare, adflare, ‘blow on’; see afflate]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia).

• afflate† (tr.v.): to breathe on; inspire. [Latin afflatus, pp. of afflare, adflare, ‘blow on’, from ad, ‘to’ + flare, ‘blow’; see blow¹]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia).

• afflation (n.): a blowing or breathing on; inspiration. [from Latin as if *afflatio(n-), from aflare, adflare; see afflatus]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia).

• afflatus (n.): a Latin term which was derived from Cicero in “De Natura Deorum” (‘The Nature of the Gods’) and has been translated as ‘inspiration’. Cicero’s usage was a literalising of “inspiration”, which had already become figurative. As “inspiration” had come to mean simply the gathering of a new idea, Cicero reiterated the idea of a rush of unexpected breath, a powerful force which would render the poet helpless and unaware of its origin. Literally, the Latin “afflatus” means ‘to blow upon’, ‘blow toward’. It was originally spelt “adflatus”, made up of “ad-”, ‘to’, and “flatus”, ‘blowing’, ‘breathing’, the nounal form of “flāre”, ‘to blow’. It can be taken to mean ‘to be blown upon’ by a divine wind, like its English equivalent ‘inspiration’, which comes from “inspire”, meaning ‘to breathe’, ‘blow onto’. In English, “afflatus” is used for the literal form of inspiration. It generally refers not to the usual sudden originality but the staggering and stunning blow of a new idea, which the recipient may be unable to explain. In Romantic literature and criticism, in particular, the usage of “afflatus” was revived for the mystical form of poetic inspiration tied to genius, such as the story Samuel Taylor Coleridge offered for the composition of “Kubla Khan”. The frequent use of the Aeolian harp as a symbol for the poet was a play on the renewed emphasis on “afflatus” in the ensuing years. “Divino afflante Spiritu” (‘Inspired by the Holy Spirit’) is an encyclical letter of Pope Pius XII dealing with Biblical inspiration and Biblical criticism. It lay out his desire to see new translations from the original language instead of the Vulgate. “Nemo igitur vir magnus sine aliquo adflatu divino umquam fuit” (‘No great man ever existed who did not enjoy some portion of divine inspiration’). ~ (2012 Wikipedia Encyclopaedia).

• flatulence (n.): defined in the medical literature as “flatus expelled through the anus” or even “the quality or state of being flatulent”, which is defined in turn as “marked by or affected with gases generated in the intestine or stomach; likely to cause digestive flatulence”. The root of these words is from the Latin “flatus”—meaning ‘a blowing’, ‘a breaking wind’. The word “flatus” is also the medical term for gas generated in the bowels or stomach. Despite these standard definitions, a proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environmental air, and hence flatus is not totally generated in the intestinal tract. The scientific study of this area of medicine is termed “flatology”. The process involves flatus being transported to the rectum and pressurised by intestinal muscles. It is normal to express flatus, though volume and frequency vary greatly among individuals. It is also normal for intestinal gas to have a feculent⁽⁰¹⁾ odour, which may be intense at times. The noise commonly associated with flatulence (“blowing a raspberry”) is produced by the anus and buttocks, which act together in a manner similar to that of an embouchure⁽⁰²⁾. Both the sound and the smell are sources of embarrassment, annoyance or flatulence humour. ~ (2012 Wikipedia Encyclopaedia).

[†]antipodal (adj): 1. of, relating to, or situated on the opposite sides of the earth; 2. diametrically opposed; exactly opposite; (n): antipodes. [back-formation from antipodes; viz.: Middle English, lit. “people with feet opposite ours”, from Latin, from Greek, from pl. of antipous, ‘with the feet opposite’: anti-, ‘anti-’ + pous, pod-, ‘foot’]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary).