A curious phrase in itself, and one whose origin I’d like to know, but not the reason for the posting.

How do you spell the word that is the noise made by a sneeze?

I found Atishoo in Chambers and I’m sure there are others, probably considered to be onomatopaeic. But I’ve long harboured the notion that the French response “Á tes souhaits” (literally have your wishes) sounds very like the noise itself.

What spellings have you come across, and is there one here?

“I beg your pa-pa-paaaahznxxxxppppturkhgrrrnnnnkptingchchxxxxtpaoowifachggggrhachAAAAAAAAChOOOOooooo!!!!!!..ppp.pppppfff…aaaaahdon”

Today in safe and easy French, clever retort à tes souhaits “as you wish or suit yourself” with pronominal contraction tes > t’s followed by articulatory palat(al)ization of initial fricative s > sh could very well sound like a quaint, insignificant sneeze [aˈʧwε]; perhaps more akin to our colloquial manner of speech, however, your onomatopoeic interjection achoo sports one titillating variety of recognized spellings.  Intermittent sneezing at first appears to be this flattering askance used in polite 17.cent Europe, thereby contributing to history’s golden age of sternutative herbs & piquant snuff, “Achoo!”  But personal hygiene and changing rapport over three hundred years so intervened to find Old Sneeze quite properly lodged in the same quarters with derisive scoff and verbal insult: “Nothing to sneeze at,” would in due turn become something other to say than just negative.

Thanks B, “Bless you!” would have sufficed.  But we enjoy your runny notes.

Sternutatives tend to sneeze over their shoulder.  Bowspits don’t.

“Bowspits” there you go expectorating again, as if no virtue in shame at all!

In search of the lost sneeze ?  Snuffles forth boldly, where none have gobbed before.