snifter

Meanings

1. To sniff; also, to snivel or snuffle.
2. Followed by out: to speak (words) in a nasal, snuffling manner.

1. A sniff.
2. A strong or severe wind.
3. A small, wide, pear-shaped glass used for drinking aromatic liquors such as bourbon and brandy.
4. Synonym of nip (“a small amount of an alcoholic beverage, especially one equivalent to what a snifter (noun sense 2.2) might hold”)
5. Synonym of cocaine addict; a sniffer.
6. A small amount of cocaine taken by inhaling through the nose.
7. A handheld device used to detect signals from radio transmitters; a sniffer.

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English snifteren, snifter, snyfter (“to sniffle”), possibly from *snift (possibly derived from an Old Norse word—compare Old Danish snifte and Swedish snyfta (“to sniffle; to sob”); probably ultimately imitative) + -er- (frequentative suffix) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs). The noun is derived from the verb.