sneeze

sneeze
{{11}}sneeze (n.) 1640s, from SNEEZE (Cf. sneeze) (v.).
{{12}}sneeze (v.) O.E. fneosan "to snort, sneeze," from P.Gmc. *fneusanan (Cf. M.Du. fniesen, Du. fniezen "to sneeze;" O.N. fnysa "to snort;" O.N. hnjosa, Swed. nysa "to sneeze;" O.H.G. niosan, Ger. niesen "to sneeze"), from P.Gmc. base *fneu-s- "sneeze," of imitative origin, as is PIE *pneu- "to breathe" (Cf. Gk. pnein "to breathe").
Other imitative words for it, perhaps in various ways related to each other, include L. sternuere (Cf. It. starnutare, Fr. éternuer, Sp. estornudar), Bret. strevia, Skt. ksu-, Lith. ДЌiaudeti, Pol. kichaД‡, Rus. ДЌichat'. English forms in sn- appear late 15c.; change may be due to a misreading of fn-, or from Norse influence. But OED suggests M.E. fnese had been reduced to simple nese by early 15c., and sneeze is a "strengthened form" of this, "assisted by its phonetic appropriateness." Related: Sneezed; sneezing. To sneeze at "to regard as of little value" (usually with negative) is attested from 1806.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Sneeze — Sneeze, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sneezed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sneezing}.] [OE. snesen; of uncertain origin; cf. D. snuse to sniff, E. neese, and AS. fne[ o]san.] To emit air, chiefly through the nose, audibly and violently, by a kind of involuntary… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sneeze — Sneeze, n. A sudden and violent ejection of air with an audible sound, chiefly through the nose. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • sneeze — sneeze; sneeze·less; …   English syllables

  • sneeze at — [v] disregard blink at*, brush aside, brush away, brush off, discount, have no use for*, laugh off*, let pass*, look the other way*, overlook, pass over, pay no attention to, pay no heed to, pay no mind*, shut eyes to*, slight, snub, take lightly …   New thesaurus

  • sneeze — ► VERB ▪ make a sudden involuntary expulsion of air from the nose and mouth due to irritation of one s nostrils. ► NOUN ▪ an act or the sound of sneezing. ● not to be sneezed at Cf. ↑not to be sneezed at DERIVATIVES sneezer noun …   English terms dictionary

  • sneeze — [snēz] vi. sneezed, sneezing [ME snesen, prob. echoic alteration of fnesen < OE fneosan: for IE base see PNEUMA] to exhale breath from the nose and mouth in a sudden, involuntary, explosive action, as a result of an irritation of the nasal… …   English World dictionary

  • Sneeze — A sneeze (or sternutation) is a semi autonomous, convulsive expulsion of air from the lungs, most commonly caused by foreign particles irritating the nasal mucosa. Sneezing can further be triggered through sudden exposure to bright light, a… …   Wikipedia

  • sneeze — [15] The Old English word for ‘sneeze’ was fnēsan, a distant relative of Greek pneuma ‘breath’ (source of English pneumatic). This survived into Middle English as fnese. The letters f and s were very similar in medieval script, so it could have… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • sneeze — [15] The Old English word for ‘sneeze’ was fnēsan, a distant relative of Greek pneuma ‘breath’ (source of English pneumatic). This survived into Middle English as fnese. The letters f and s were very similar in medieval script, so it could have… …   Word origins

  • sneeze — sneeze1 [sni:z] v [: Old English; Origin: fneosan] 1.) if you sneeze, air suddenly comes from your nose, making a noise, for example when you have a cold ▪ She started coughing and sneezing. ▪ The dust was making him sneeze . 2.) not to be… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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