Where does “sneeze” come from?

Sneeze comes from Middle English snesen, from Middle English fnesen, from Old English fnēosan, from Proto-Germanic fneusaną, from Proto-Indo-European pnew-.

sneeze (English): To expel air as a reflex induced by an irritation...

Definitions

  1. To expel air as a reflex induced by an irritation...

Ancestry of “sneeze”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishsnesenTo sneeze
2Middle EnglishfnesenAlternative form of snesen; to sneeze
3Old Englishfnēosanto snort, sneeze; to sneeze
4Proto-West Germanicfneusanto sneeze
5Proto-Germanicfneusanąto sneeze
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpnew-to pant, breathe

Words derived from “sneeze”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pnew- →