## 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
- Senses & Perception

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