Snifts

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. To draw air sharply into the nose, especially to detect a scent or express emotion ; a short, quick inhalation through the nostrils often used to sense or react to odors ; the act of inhaling audibly through the nose to perceive smells or convey feelings related to sadness or curiosity
2. The action of breathing in through the nostrils in a quick, subtle manner to identify smells or show feelings ; a brief nasal intake of air to catch a scent or signal an emotional response ; inhaling through the nose with a sound that may indicate trying to sense or respond to stimuli
3. Drawing air rapidly into the nasal passages to perceive an aroma or emotion ; performing a short, noisy nasal breath to detect odors or express subtle sentiment ; a sharp inhalation through the nose done to sense or communicate affective states or environmental cues

Etymology: "Snifts" is the third-person singular form of "snift," a verb meaning to breathe in sharply through the nose. The verb is imitative, meaning its sound is meant to resemble the action it describes: the short, sharp intake of air that a quick inhalation makes. Its root is best understood as a sniffing sound rather than a borrowed word. Its closest relative in English is the Middle English "snifteren," meaning to sniffle, which shows the same sniff-like sound pattern in an older form of the language. "Snift" and "sniff" share this imitative pattern, and the family of words built on "sn-" plus a short vowel and a sharp consonant tends to describe quick nasal sounds, as in "snuffle" and "sniffle."

Synonyms: sniffs, snorts, inhales