schnauben

German

Etymology

From Middle High German snūben, which is part of a group of interrelated forms (see below). The verb is originally weak, but has produced secondary strong forms, as has the Dutch cognate snuiven. Compare also the German variant schnaufen.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʃnaʊ̯bən/, [ʃnaʊ̯bən], [ʃnaʊ̯bm̩]

Verb

schnauben (third-person singular simple present schnaubt, past tense schnaubte or archaic schnob, past participle geschnaubt or archaic geschnoben, auxiliary haben)

  1. (intransitive) to snort, to pant (to breathe loudly)

Usage notes

  • The verb schnauben is most often used referring either to animals, particularly horses, or to someone’s snorting out of anger. The related form schnaufen is more common otherwise (although this distinction is not clear-cut).
  • Only the weak conjugation is common today. The strong forms are widely obsolete.

Conjugation

Weak conjugation
Strong conjugation (archaic)

Further reading

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.