whiff

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

• Australia, General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /wɪf/
  Play
• Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  Play
• Scotland: /ʍɪf/
  Play
• New-Zealand: /wəf/
  Play
• rhymes with -ɪf
  Play
• CMU ARPABET: W IH1 F Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  Play
• CMU ARPABET 2: HH W IH1 F Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  Play

The noun is possibly: * partly a variant of Middle English wef, weffe (“bad smell, stench, stink; exhalation; vapour; tendency of something to go bad (?)”) [and other forms], possibly a variant of either: ** waf, waif, waife (“odour, scent”), possibly from waven (“to move to and fro, sway, wave; to stray, wander; to move in a weaving manner; (figuratively) to hesitate, vacillate”), from Old English wafian (“to wave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *webh- (“to braid, weave”); or ** wef (“a blow, stroke”), from weven (“to travel, wander; to move to and fro, flutter, waver; to blow something away, waft; to cause something to move; to fall; to cut deeply; to sever; to give up, yield; to give deference to; to avoid; to afflict, trouble; to beckon, signal”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Old English wefan (“to weave”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *webh- (“to braid, weave”)), or from wǣfan (see bewǣfan, ymbwǣfan); and * partly onomatopoeic. Noun sense 6 (“name of a number of flatfish”) is possibly derived from sense 1 (“brief, gentle breeze; a light gust of air”), sense 4 (“small quantity of cloud, smoke, vapour, etc.”), and other such senses. The verb and adjective are derived from the noun. Verb sense 2.6 (“to catch fish by dragging a handline near the surface of the water from a moving boat”) is possibly derived from sense 1.1 (“to carry or convey (something) by, or as by, a whiff or puff of air”), sense 2.2 (“to be carried, or move as if carried, by a puff of air”), and other such senses. The interjection is derived from noun sense 7.4 (“a sound like that of air passing through a small opening; a short or soft whistle”).

53 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Bulgarian: миризлив (mirizliv) — having a strong or unpleasant odour
• Dutch: geurig — having a strong or unpleasant odour
• Dutch: sterk van geur — having a strong or unpleasant odour
• Arabic: نَسَمَة (nasama) — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Bulgarian: полъх (polǎh) — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Bulgarian: повей (povej) — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Dutch: zuchtje — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Dutch: vlaag — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Dutch: vleug — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Dutch: adem — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Finnish: tuulahdus — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• French: souffle — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• German: Hauch — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Hungarian: szellő — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Hungarian: fuvallat — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Latvian: vēsma — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Macedonian: по́вев (póvev) — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Polish: podmuch — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Russian: дунове́ние (dunovénije) — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Serbo-Croatian: dašak — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Spanish: bocanadas — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Spanish: soplo — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Spanish: hálito — brief, gentle breeze; light gust of air — see also waft
• Bulgarian: дъх (dǎh) — short inhalation or exhalation of breath
• Dutch: teug — short inhalation or exhalation of breath
• Dutch: trek — short inhalation or exhalation of breath
• Finnish: henkäys — short inhalation or exhalation of breath
• French: bouffée — short inhalation or exhalation of breath
• Macedonian: здив (zdiv) — short inhalation or exhalation of breath
• Russian: затя́жка (zatjážka) — short inhalation or exhalation of breath
• Spanish: bocanada — short inhalation or exhalation of breath
• Bulgarian: лъх (lǎh) — odour carried briefly through the air
• Dutch: vleug — odour carried briefly through the air
• Finnish: tuoksahdus — odour carried briefly through the air
• French: effluve — odour carried briefly through the air
• German: Hauch — odour carried briefly through the air
• Hungarian: illat — odour carried briefly through the air
• Hungarian: szag — odour carried briefly through the air
• Latvian: vēsma — odour carried briefly through the air
• Māori: hīrea — odour carried briefly through the air
• Russian: запашок (zapašok) — odour carried briefly through the air
• Serbo-Croatian: dašak — odour carried briefly through the air
• Bulgarian: кълбо дим (kǎlbo dim) — small quantity of cloud, smoke, vapour, etc.
• Bulgarian: лъхам (lǎham) — to carry or convey (something) by, or as by, a whiff or puff of air — see also blow, puff, waft
• Dutch: geuren — to carry or convey (something) by, or as by, a whiff or puff of air — see also blow, puff, waft
• Finnish: tuulahtaa — to carry or convey (something) by, or as by, a whiff or puff of air — see also blow, puff, waft
• Russian: дуть (dutʹ) — to carry or convey (something) by, or as by, a whiff or puff of air — see also blow, puff, waft
• Russian: ве́ять (véjatʹ) — to carry or convey (something) by, or as by, a whiff or puff of air — see also blow, puff, waft
• Dutch: snuiven — to breathe in or sniff (an odour) — see also smell
• Dutch: ruiken — to breathe in or sniff (an odour) — see also smell
• Finnish: nuuhkaista — to breathe in or sniff (an odour) — see also smell
• Russian: принюхиваться (prinjuxivatʹsja) — to breathe in or sniff (an odour) — see also smell
• Finnish: lyödä ohi — especially in baseball or golf: to completely miss hitting a ball