sneeze English · revision 1029

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sniːz/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|snesen]], an alteration of ''fnesen'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[inh|ang|fnēosan|t=to snort, sneeze]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[gem-pro|*fneusaną]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) of imitative origin.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[nl|fniezen|t=to sneeze]] and [[non|fnýsa|t=to snort]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The change from ''fn-'' to ''sn-'' may come from the weakening of initial ''f'' and the influence of words like [[snort]] and [[snore]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) or from a misreading of the rare spelling ''fn-'';^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) the OED suggests ''sneeze'' is a strengthened form of reduced ''nese''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To expel air suddenly through the nose and mouth by an involuntary spasm (before 1333 in Barnhart; 1493 in the OED).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun first meant snuff, a powder for making one sneeze (1632),^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) and from 1646 an act of sneezing.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) The phrase ''to sneeze at'', “to regard as of little value”, chiefly in the negative ''not to be sneezed at'', dates from 1806.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – Old English ''fnēosan''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * before 1333 – ''snesen'' (Barnhart).^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1493 – to sneeze (OED).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1632 – noun, snuff.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1646 – an act of sneezing.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1806 – ''sneeze at'', to make light of.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To expel air forcibly and audibly from the nose and mouth in an involuntary spasm, chiefly because of irritation of the [[mucous membrane]] of the nose.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(sneeze at)'' To treat as unimportant, as in ''nothing to sneeze at''.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An act or the sound of sneezing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sneezer]]

+ * [[sneezy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[snort]]

+ * [[snore]]

+ * [[sneer]]

+ * [[pneumonia]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}