Meaning

noun whining in a tearful manner

noun the act of breathing heavily through the nose (as when the nose is congested)

verb talk in a tearful manner

originFrom Middle English snivelen, snevelen, snyvelen, snuvelen, from Old English *snyflan (attested in the verbal noun snyflung (“mucus”)), from Proto-West Germanic *snuflijan, related to Old English snofl (“mucus”), ultimately from the root of snout. Akin to sniff, snuff. Compare sniffle. Cognate with Middle Low German snuffelen, snüffelen (“to sniff, smell”), Danish snøvle (“to sniffle, snivel”),…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0