Breathing heavily and audibly, especially from exertion or anger, or inhaling intoxicating vapors.
From Middle English huffen, imitative of the sound of heavy breathing. The drug-use sense emerged in the 1960s from the literal huffing sound made when inhaling aerosols or solvents.
The word perfectly mimics the actual sound - 'huff' is pure onomatopoeia that works across languages. What's tragic is how this innocent word for being winded or annoyed became associated with a dangerous form of substance abuse that literally involves the huffing sound.
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