Where does “whiffy” come from?

whiffy (English) comes 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.

whiffy (English): Having a bad smell

Definitions

  1. Having a bad smell

Ancestry of “whiffy”, step by step

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

Words derived from “whiffy”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European webʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic webaną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic weban →