whiff (n.)

13c., weffe "foul scent or odor," of imitative origin. Modern form became popular late 16c. with tobacco smoking, probably influenced by whiffle "blow in gusts or puffs" (1560s). The verb in the baseball slang sense "to swing at a ball and miss" first recorded 1913.

Entries linking to whiff

quiff (n.)

"curl or lock of hair over the forehead," by 1890, originally a style among soldiers, a word of unknown origin. Perhaps connected with quiff "a puff or whiff of tobacco smoke" (1831, originally Southern U.S.), which is held to be a variant of whiff (n.).

whiffle (v.)

"flicker or flutter as if blown by the wind," 1660s; see whiff. The noun meaning "something light or insignificant" (1670s) is preserved in whiffle-ball (1931).

Wiffle

hollow, perforated plastic ball, registered trademark name (The Wiffle Ball Inc., Shelton, Connecticut, U.S.), claiming use from 1954. According to the company, designed in 1953 by David N. Mullany "in response to a lack of field space and numerous broken windows by his baseball-playing son," the name based on whiff (q.v.), baseball slang for a missed swing.

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Definitions of whiff

whiff (v.)

perceive by inhaling through the nose;

Synonyms: sniff

whiff (v.)

drive or carry as if by a puff of air;

The gust of air whiffed away the clouds

whiff (v.)

strike out by swinging and missing the pitch charged as the third;

whiff (v.)

smoke and exhale strongly;

whiff a pipe

Synonyms: puff

whiff (v.)

utter with a puff of air;

whiff out a prayer

whiff (n.)

a short light gust of air;

Synonyms: puff / puff of air

whiff (n.)

a lefteye flounder found in coastal waters from New England to Brazil;

whiff (n.)

a strikeout resulting from the batter swinging at and missing the ball for the third strike;

From wordnet.princeton.edu

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