What does flatulency mean?
Flatulency is the state of having an accumulation of gas in the stomach or intestines, producing bloating, distension, and the urge to pass wind. In modern English the word functions as an older, more formal variant of "flatulence," which has become the standard term in both medical literature and everyday conversation. Flatulency may also be used figuratively to describe speech or writing that is grandiloquent yet empty — verbose, self-important, and lacking in substance, much like bodily wind that produces noise without nourishment. The word derives from the Latin flatus, meaning "a blowing" or "breathing," via flatulentus, "swollen with wind." Because of its clinical origins, flatulency tends to appear in older texts, historical medical writing, and satirical commentary rather than contemporary prose. Though largely superseded by its shorter counterpart, it remains a legitimate and recognizable term, useful when a slightly more antique or dignified tone is wanted for an otherwise undignified subject.
nounThe condition or quality of having gas in the stomach or intestines; the state of being bloated with excessive intestinal gas. By extension, it can also denote pompous, empty verbosity in speech or writing.
- The medical condition of having excessive gas in the digestive tract, causing bloating and discomfort.
- Figuratively, pompous or inflated speech that is long-winded but empty of substance.
"His flatulency after the rich meal sent him searching for an antacid."
"The doctor asked whether the patient's abdominal discomfort was accompanied by flatulency or cramping."
"Critics dismissed the senator's hour-long address as mere flatulency — grand words with nothing behind them."
The plural is rare and appears mainly in older medical or literary texts describing repeated episodes of the condition.
"The herbalist claimed his tonic relieved the flatulencies of even his most troubled patients."
"Flatulency" is the older, more formal sibling of "flatulence" — a word so polite-sounding that Victorian doctors prescribed for it without blushing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of flatulency
Flatulency comes ultimately from the Latin flatus, meaning "a blowing, breathing, or puffing," derived from the verb flare, "to blow." The Latin adjective flatulosus described something swollen or puffed up with wind, passing into early modern English as "flatulent." The noun form flatulency emerged in English usage around the late sixteenth or seventeenth century as a somewhat longer variant of "flatulence." Its relatives include the adjective "flatulent" and the verb "flatulate," all sharing the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How flatulency is actually used
"Flatulency" is now somewhat dated and formal compared to the more common "flatulence," which has largely displaced it in both everyday and medical use. It carries a clinical register in its literal sense and a mildly comic or satirical tone in its figurative sense of windy pomposity.
Easily confused with flatulency
Flagrancy refers to something glaringly obvious or notorious (especially wrongdoing), whereas flatulency refers to intestinal gas or, figuratively, pompous windiness.