sneeze
- to emit air or breath suddenly, forcibly, and audibly through the nose and mouth by involuntary, spasmodic action.
- an act or sound of sneezing.
- sneeze at, Informal. to treat with contempt; scorn: $50,000 is nothing to sneeze at.
Origin of sneeze
sneeze at
- (intr, prep.; usually with a negative) informal to dismiss lightlyhis offer is not to be sneezed at
sneeze
- (intr) to expel air and nasal secretions from the nose involuntarily, esp as the result of irritation of the nasal mucous membrane
- the act or sound of sneezing
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for sneeze at
sneeze
v.
late 15c., from Old English fneosan "to snort, sneeze," from Proto-Germanic *fneusanan (cf. Middle Dutch fniesen, Dutch fniezen "to sneeze;" Old Norse fnysa "to snort;" Old Norse hnjosa, Swedish nysa "to sneeze;" Old High German niosan, German niesen "to sneeze"), from Proto-Germanic base *fneu-s- "sneeze," of imitative origin, as is PIE *pneu- "to breathe" (cf. Greek pnein "to breathe").
Other imitative words for it, perhaps in various ways related to each other, include Latin sternuere (cf. Italian starnutare, French éternuer, Spanish estornudar), Breton strevia, Sanskrit ksu-, Lithuanian čiaudeti, Polish kichać, Russian čichat'.
English forms in sn- might be due to a misreading of the uncommon fn- (represented in only eight words in Clark Hall, mostly in words to do with breathing), or from Norse influence. OED suggests Middle English 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.
sneeze
n.
"act of sneezing," 1640s, from sneeze (v.).
sneeze
(snēz)- To expel air forcibly from the mouth and nose in an explosive, spasmodic involuntary action resulting chiefly from irritation of the nasal mucous membrane.
- The act or an instance of sneezing.
Idioms and Phrases with sneeze at
sneeze at
see not to be sneezed at.