sneeze

From Middle English snesen (“to sneeze”), alteration of earlier fnesen (“to sneeze”), from Old English fnēosan (“to snort, sneeze”), from Proto-Germanic *fneusaną (“to sneeze, snort”), from Proto-Indo-European *pnew- (“to breathe, sneeze”). Cognate with dialectal Dutch fniezen (“to sneeze”), Old Norse fnýsa (“to snort”); Middle English neosen (“to sneeze”), from Old Norse hnjósa (“to sneeze”), Old High German niosan (“to sneeze”).

The infrequency of the fn combination, coupled with the visual similarity of an f and ſ (long s), assisted in ultimately turning fneeze into ſneeze (sneeze) (compare snore, from Middle English fnore).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /sniːz/
• (US) IPA^(key): /sniz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːz

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.

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

• nothing to sneeze at

sneeze (plural sneezes)

1. An act of sneezing.

• (medicine) sternutation
• (medicine) ptarmus

• achoo
• bless you

• neezes