"to blow or wipe the nose," c. 1100, now Scottish and dialectal, from Old English snytan, related to Old Norse snyta, Middle Dutch snuten, Old High German snuzen, German schneuzen "to blow one's nose," and to snot. Nose-sniting "blowing of the nose" is attested from early 15c.

"to put out, quench, stifle," 1540s, from Latin extinguere/exstinguere "quench, put out (what is burning); wipe out, obliterate," from ex "out" (see ex-) + stinguere "quench," apparently an evolved sense from PIE *steig- "to prick, stick, pierce" (see stick (v.)). But see distinguish (v.). Related: Extinguished; extinguishing.

early 15c., "annihilation," from Latin extinctionem/exstinctionem (nominative extinctio/exstinctio) "extinction, annihilation," noun of action from past-participle stem of extinguere/exstinguere "quench, wipe out" (see extinguish). Originally of fires, lights; figurative use, the wiping out of a material thing (a debt, a person, a family, etc.) from early 17c.; of species by 1784.

1550s, "one who purifies," agent noun from purify. As a type of mechanical apparatus, from 1834 (in reference to coal gas). Purificator in the ecclesiastical sense of "cloth used to wipe the chalice, etc., during mass" is by 1853, an agent-noun from Latin purificare.

"to erase or obliterate," especially something written or carved, late 15c., from French effacer, from Old French esfacier (12c.) "to wipe out, destroy," literally "to remove the face," from es- "out" (see ex-) + face "appearance," from Latin facies "face" (see face (n.)). Related: Effaced; effacing; effaceable. Compare deface.

late 14c., from Old English gesnot "nasal mucus," from Proto-Germanic *snuttan (source also of Old Frisian snotta, Middle Low German and Middle Dutch snotte, Middle Low German snute), from the same base as snout. Old English had also a verb snite "wipe or pick one's nose." Meaning "despicable person" is from 1809.