Wheeze
/wiːz/noun
To breathe with difficulty, often making a noisy, whistling sound.
Did you know?Wheeze belongs to a Germanic sound-family tied to blowing and breathing, and its cousins include words like wind and weather — the language of air itself.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weǵʰ-
“to blow, breathe”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*hwes- / *hweusaną
“to breathe hard, pant”
Old English
OE
hwēosan
“to pant, gasp”
Middle English
ME
wesen / whesen
“to breathe noisily, gasp”
16th Century
English
wheese / wheeze
“to breathe with difficulty and a whistling sound”
Modern English
English
wheeze
“to breathe with difficulty, often audibly”