Emily Dickinson Lexicon

WHIFF, n. [W. çwif, a whiff or puff, a hiss; çwifiaw, to whiff, and çwaf, a quick gust.]

1. A sudden expulsion of air from the mouth; a puff; as, the whiff of a smoker. And seasons his whiffs with impertinent jokes. – Pope.
2. In ichthyology, a species of Pleuronectes or flounder. – Ed. Encyc.