snifter
[ snif-ter ]
/ ˈsnɪf tər /
noun
Also called inhaler. a pear-shaped glass, narrowing at the top to intensify the aroma of brandy, liqueur, etc.
Informal. a very small drink of liquor.
Nearby words
sniffer dog, sniffish, sniffle, sniffles, sniffy, snifter, snifting valve, snig, snigger, snigging chain, sniggle
Origin of snifter
1840–50; derivative of snifter to sniff, snivel, Middle English snyfter; imitative
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for snifter
British Dictionary definitions for snifter
snifter
/ (ˈsnɪftə) /
noun
a pear-shaped glass with a short stem and a bowl that narrows towards the top so that the aroma of brandy or a liqueur is retained
informal a small quantity of alcoholic drink
Word Origin for snifter
C19: perhaps from dialect snifter to sniff, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish snifta (obsolete) to sniff
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for snifter
snifter
1844, "a drink of liquor," earlier "a sniff," from a Scottish and northern English survival of an obsolete verb snift meaning "to sniff, snivel" (mid-14c.), of imitative origin (cf. sniff (v.)). Meaning "large bulbous stemmed glass for drinking brandy" is from 1937. The association of "drinking liquor" with words for "inhaling, snuffling" (e.g. snort (n.), snootful) is perhaps borrowed from snuff-taking and the nasal reaction to it.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper