- inflect (v.)
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- early 15c., "to bend inward," from Latin inflectere (past participle inflexus) "to bend in, bow, curve," figuratively, "to change, alter, influence," from in- "in" (see in- (1)) + flectere "to bend" (see flexible). Grammatical sense "to vary by change of form" (especially at the end of a word) is fromd 1660s. Related: Inflected; inflecting.