different between sneeze vs sniffle

English

Etymology

From Middle English snesen (“to sneeze”), alteration of earlier fnesen (“to sneeze”), from Old English fn?osan (“to snort, sneeze”), from Proto-West Germanic *fneusan, from Proto-Germanic *fneusan? (“to sneeze, snort”), from Proto-Indo-European *pnew- (“to breathe, pant, snort, sneeze”). Cognate with dialectal Dutch fniezen (“to sneeze”), Old Norse fnýsa (“to snort”).

Compare neeze, from Middle English nesen, from Old English *hn?osan (“to sneeze”), cognate to Old Norse hnjósa (“to sneeze”), Old High German niosan (“to sneeze”).

It has been suggested that the change could be due to a misinterpretation of the uncommon initial sequence fn- as ?n- (sn- written with a long s), although the change is regular, seen also in snore and snort from Middle English fnoren and fnorten, and in late Middle English snatted from earlier Middle English fnatted (“snub-nosed”). The fn- forms of all these words fell out of use in the 1400s.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sni?z/
• Rhymes: -i?z

Verb

sneeze (third-person singular simple present sneezes, present participle sneezing, simple past sneezed or (nonstandard) snoze, past participle sneezed or (nonstandard) snozen)

1. (intransitive) To expel air as a reflex induced by an irritation in the nose.
2. (intransitive) To expel air as if the nose were irritated.

Synonyms

• (to expel air as a reflex): neeze, sternutate (medicine)

Derived terms

• nothing to sneeze at

Translations

Noun

sneeze (plural sneezes)

1. An act of sneezing.

   Synonyms: (medicine) sternutation, (medicine) ptarmus

Translations

See also

• achoo
• bless you

References

Anagrams

• neezes

English

Etymology

sniff +? -le (frequentative suffix)

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?f?l

Verb

sniffle (third-person singular simple present sniffles, present participle sniffling, simple past and past participle sniffled)

1. (intransitive) To make a whimpering or sniffing sound when breathing, because of a runny nose.

   Sonia sniffled a little, and her eyes were puffy and wet.

2. (transitive) To utter with a whimpering or sniffing sound.

   He sniffled a pathetic apology.

Translations

Noun

sniffle (plural sniffles)

1. The act, or the sound of sniffling; the condition of having a runny or wet nose, as from a cold or allergies.

   I sometimes have a sniffle during allergy season.

Translations

Anagrams

• niffles