snore
UK /snɔː/ · US /snoɹ/ verb, noun
Forms snores snoring snored
- verb (ambitransitive) To breathe during sleep with harsh, snorting noises caused by vibration of the soft palate.
- noun The act of snoring, and the noise produced.
- noun (informal) An extremely boring person or event.
Synonyms
saw wood snooze snoozefest snore-fest snoring stertor saw logs
Etymology
From Middle English snoren, fnoren (“to snore loudly; snort”), from Middle English snore, *fnore (“snore; snort”, noun), from Old English fnora (“snort; sneezing”), from Proto-Germanic *fnuzô, from Proto-Indo-European *pnew- (“to breathe; snort; sneeze”). Compare also Proto-West Germanic *snarkōn, Middle Low German snorren (“to drone”), Dutch snorren (“to hum, purr”).
The change fn → sn in this word is regular, seen also in sneeze, from Middle English fnesen (see sneeze for more).
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [OE. snoren, AS. snora a snoring; akin to LG. snoren, snorken, snurken, to snore, D. snorken, G. schnarchen to snore, schnarren to rattle, MHG. snarren, Sw. snarka to snore, Icel. snarka to sputter, fizzle. Cf. Snarl to growl, Sneer, Snort. See Snoring.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “snore”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details