snuff: English has three words snuff, all probably going back ultimately to a prehistoric Germanic base *snuf-, imitative of the sound of drawing air noisily in through the nose. Snuff ‘powdered tobacco for inhaling’ [17] was borrowed from Dutch snuf. This was probably short for snuftabak, etymologically ‘sniff-tobacco’, which in turn was derived from Middle Dutch snuffen ‘sniff, snuffle’, source of English snuff ‘sniff’ [16].
That base *snuf- also produced English snuffle [16], probably borrowed from Low German or Dutch snuffelen, and snivel [14], which may go back to an unrecorded Old English *snyflan; and sniff [14], if not directly related, was certainly similarly inspired by the sound of sniffing. Snuff ‘put out a candle’ was derived in the 15th century from the noun snuff ‘burnt candlewick’ [14].
The origins of this are not known, but the fact that the now obsolete verb snot was once used for ‘put out a candle’ as well as ‘blow one’s nose’ suggests that this snuff too may ultimately have connections with the inner workings of the nose (possibly a perceived resemblance between an extinguished candlewick and a piece of nasal mucus), and with the base *snuf-. Snuff it ‘die’ is first recorded in the late 19th century. => snivel
snuff (v.1)
"to cut or pinch off the burned part of a candle wick," mid-15c., from noun snoffe "burned part of a candle wick" (late 14c.), of unknown origin, perhaps related to snuff (v.2). The meaning "to die" is from 1865; that of "to kill" is from 1932; snuff-film, originally an urban legend, is from 1975.
snuff (v.2)
"draw in through the nose," 1520s, from Dutch or Flemish snuffen "to sniff, snuff," related to Dutch snuiven "to sniff," from Proto-Germanic *snuf- (cognates: Middle High German snupfe, German Schnupfen "head-cold"), imitative of the sound of drawing air through the nose (see snout). Related: Snuffed; snuffing.
snuff (n.)
"powdered tobacco to be inhaled," 1680s, from Dutch or Flemish snuf, shortened form of snuftabak "snuff tobacco," from snuffen "to sniff, snuff" (see snuff (v.2)). The practice became fashionable in England c. 1680. Slang phrase up to snuff "knowing, sharp, wide-awake, not likely to be deceived" is from 1811; the exact sense is obscure unless it refers to the "elevating" properties of snuff.
雙語例句
1. The recent rebound in mortgage rates could snuff out the housing recovery.
抵押貸款利率最近的回升可能會扼殺房地產的復蘇。
來自柯林斯例句
2. He thought he was about to snuff it.
他覺得自己快要咽氣了。
來自柯林斯例句
3. You've got the power. You can do anything you want. You can snuff him out or not.
你已經大權在握，可以為所欲為了。你可以滅了他，也可以不這么做。
來自柯林斯例句
4. The art of decorating snuff bottles from the inside originated in Beijing.
內畫壺是鼻煙壺的一種.內畫技藝起源于北京.
來自漢英文學 - 散文英譯
5. Greedy heirs waited for the old man to snuff out.