Etymograph

English

snore

Snore comes from Middle English snoren ‘to snore loudly’, from snore ‘snorting’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pnew- ‘to breathe’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pnew-1‘to breathe’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fnuzô1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fnoʀō2reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fnora1‘snort’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500snore1‘snorting’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500snoren1‘to snore loudly’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611snore1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English snore
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English fnora
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “While you here do ſnoaring lie, / Open-ey'd Conſpiracie…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pnew-Wiktionary, English snore‘to breathe’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fnuzôWiktionary, English snorereconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fnoʀōWiktionary, Old English fnorareconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fnoraWiktionary, English snore‘snort’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500snoreWiktionary, English snore‘snorting’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500snorenWiktionary, English snore‘to snore loudly’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611snoreWiktionary, English snore. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “While you here do ſnoaring lie, / Open-ey'd Conſpiracie…”

The story

The change fn → sn in this word is regular, seen also in sneeze, from Middle English fnesen (see sneeze for more).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pnew- ‘to breathe’

artery, pneumatic, apnea, sneeze, sneer, dyspnea, snort, pneuma, 13 more

Today it means

verb To breathe during sleep with harsh, snorting noises caused by vibration of the soft palate.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “snore”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English fnora. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pnew- / snore

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