whiff

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /wɪf/ UK /wɪf/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a brief, faint smell carried on the air, or a slight trace of something

A whiff of jasmine drifted in through the open window.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a brief, faint smell... trace hint sniff smell scent suggestion puff

Word family

Derived forms whiffy

Etymology

Of imitative origin, attested from the 16th century, suggesting a slight gust or puff of air carrying a smell; perhaps reinforced by earlier weffe ('an unpleasant smell').

whiff onomatopoeic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# whiff

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /wɪf/
**IPA (UK):** /wɪf/

## Meanings
1. a brief, faint smell carried on the air, or a slight trace of something

## Examples
- A whiff of jasmine drifted in through the open window.

## Synonyms
- trace
- hint
- sniff
- smell
- scent
- suggestion
- puff

## Derived Forms
- whiffy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: whiff

## Etymology
Of imitative origin, attested from the 16th century, suggesting a slight gust or puff of air carrying a smell; perhaps reinforced by earlier weffe ('an unpleasant smell').

## AI Etymology
Whiff is traced through of imitative origin, attested from the 16th century, suggesting a slight gust or puff of air carrying a smell; perhaps reinforced by earlier weffe ('an unpleasant smell'). In current use it is a noun and verb meaning "a brief, faint smell carried on the air, or a slight trace of something". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The uncertainty belongs to the etymology itself and should be kept: the older ancestry is not presented as more secure than it is. A central historical form is onomatopoeic whiff. A derived form is whiffy. The safest dictionary treatment is to keep the secure forms and the uncertainty together, since the doubtful step is part of the word's history rather than a gap to fill by guesswork.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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