English
huff
Huff may come from Scots hech ‘to breathe hard, pant’.
- Scotsc. 1450–presenthech‘to breathe hard, pant’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1667huff
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Scotsc. 1450–presenthech‘to breathe hard, pant’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1667huff
Earliest quotation: 1667, Robert South: “Lewd, shallow-brained huffs make atheism and contempt of religion…”
The story
Probably an altered spelling of earlier *hough, represented by Scots hech (‘to breathe hard, pant’).
Every English word from Scots hech
Today it means
noun A heavy breath; a grunt or sigh.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Scots hech / huff