Wift

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A brief puff of air or a faint breath of smell carried on the wind, a term found in Scots and older dialect use
2. An archaic or regional word for a quick gust of air or a passing whiff of odour
3. A dialect term describing a slight, fleeting breeze or a faint trace of scent in the air

Etymology: In northern English and Scots dialect, a "wift" is a slight puff of air, the kind that brushes past you without warning. The word appears in dialect and older Scots writing, and it is closely related to "waft," which also describes air moving gently. Its exact path into these dialects is uncertain, but it is probably linked to Old Norse "veifa," meaning "to wave" or "to flutter," the same family that gave English words for swinging and fluttering motions. The word belongs to the same family of sounds as "whiff," which is a more widely used word for a brief smell or puff. The two are likely connected through their shared sense of something light and quick moving through the air, though the precise relationship between them is not settled in the sources I can confirm.