Sniff
/snɪf/noun
To draw air audibly through the nose, or to smell something by doing so.
Did you know?Sniff is an expressive, sound-symbolic word first recorded in English in the 16th century, showing how everyday speech can be built from imitation rather than inherited root meaning.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sneu-
“To blow or breathe”
Old English
OE
snīfan
“To snuff, sniff, or breathe noisily through the nose”
Middle English
ME
sniffen
“To draw air through the nose audibly; to snuffle or smell”
16th Century
English
sniff
“An audible drawing in of breath through the nose; later, to smell or investigate”
Modern English
English
sniff
“To inhale through the nose, especially to smell or detect something”