snuff
/snʌf/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.15 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Finely ground or pulverized tobacco (or other plant derivative) intended for use by being sniffed or snorted into the nose.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Fine-ground or minced tobacco, dry or moistened, intended for use by placing a pinch behind the lip or beneath the tongue.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Resentment or skepticism expressed by quickly drawing air through the nose; snuffling; sniffling.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The native of some South American tribes use this drug as an aphrodisiac in the form of a snuff called cohoba."
- "Dry snuffs are often adulterated with quicklime, and moist snuffs, as rappee, with ammonia, hellebore, pearl-ash, etc."
- "[…] most of the women dipped snuff and of course had a spit-cup in the house."
- "He snuffs the wind, his heels the sand excite."
- "Earl Walter winds his bugle horn; / To horſe, to horſe, halloo, halloo! / His fiery courſer ſnuffs the morn, / And thronging ſerfs their Lord purſue."
- "Napoleon paced to and fro in silence, occasionally snuffing at the ground."
Etymology
Late Middle English, from Middle Dutch snuffen (“to snuff, sniff, snuffle”). Related to Dutch snuiven (“to sniff”), Middle Low German snûve (“pose, head-cold”), German Schnupfen (“head-cold”). The noun is probably from Dutch snuf (“snuff”), an abbreviation of snuftabak, snuiftabak (“snuff”). Related to sniff (compare Dutch snuffen (“snuff”), German schnupf (“snuff”), French schnouff (“junk”)).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: -, snuffen, snoffe
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /snʌf/
- British English: /snʌf/