Sneeze Definition

snēz
sneezed, sneezes, sneezing
verb
sneezed, sneezes, sneezing
To exhale breath from the nose and mouth in a sudden, involuntary, explosive action, as a result of an irritation of the nasal mucous membrane.
Webster's New World
noun
sneezes
An act of sneezing.
Webster's New World
idiom
not to be sneezed at
  • not to be considered lightly or disregarded
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Sneeze

Noun

Singular:
sneeze
Plural:
sneezes

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Sneeze

  • not to be sneezed at

Origin of Sneeze

  • From Middle English snesen (“to sneeze"), alteration of earlier fnesen (“to sneeze"), from Old English fnÄ“osan (“to snort, sneeze"), from Proto-Germanic *fneusanÄ… (“to sneeze, snort"), from Proto-Indo-European *pnew- (“to breathe, sneeze"). Cognate with Dutch dialectal fniezen (Modern Standard Dutch niezen, “to sneeze"), Old Norse fnȳsa (“to snort"); Middle English neosen (“to sneeze"), from Old Norse hnjōsa (Swedish nysa, “to sneeze"), Old High German niosan (German niesen, “to sneeze").

    From Wiktionary

  • The infrequency of the “fn" combination coupled with the visual similarity of an “f" and “Å¿" (long “s") assisted in ultimately turning “fneeze" into “Å¿neeze (sneeze)".

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English snesen alteration of fnesen from Old English fnēosan pneu- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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