Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “whiffiness” come from?

whiffiness (English) comes from English whiffy, from English whiff, from Old English wef, from Middle English weven, from Old English wefan, from Proto-West Germanic weban, from Proto-Germanic webaną, from Proto-Indo-European webʰ- — to weave, braid.

whiffiness (English): The quality of being whiffy; a bad smell

Definitions

  1. The quality of being whiffy; a bad smell

Ancestry of “whiffiness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwhiffyHaving a bad smell
2EnglishwhiffA waft; a brief, gentle breeze; a light gust of...
3Old Englishwefweb
4Middle EnglishwevenTo weave; to perform or do some weaving; To...
5Old Englishwefanto weave
6Proto-West Germanicwebanto weave
7Proto-Germanicwebanąto weave
8Proto-Indo-Europeanwebʰ-to weave, braid
Every word from Proto-Indo-European webʰ- →