How did influenza get its name?

The term "influenza" came about in the 16th century and is associated with an Italian expression influenza di freddo—an influence of or impression resulting from the cold in an astrological sense that refers to the effect of celestial bodies which were believed to carry disease. Later a French word grippe—derived from a German word griff which means ‘grasping’. Influenza has also colloquially come to be known as the Flu. An alternative name suggested at a meeting of medical scholars hosted by WHO in the Netherlands in May 1966 was Grippon but has not achieved the intended recognition.