"liable to 'take a miff,' " 1700, from miff (n.) + -y (2). Related: Miffiness.
Entries linking to miffy
miff n.
1620s, "feeling of petulant displeasure, fit of ill humor," colloquial, perhaps imitative of an exclamation of disgust (compare German muffen "to sulk").
-y 2
adjective suffix, "full of or characterized by," from Old English -ig, from Proto-Germanic *-iga- (source also of Dutch, Danish, German -ig, Gothic -egs), from PIE -(i)ko-, adjectival suffix, cognate with elements in Greek -ikos, Latin -icus (see -ic). Originally added to nouns in Old English; used from 13c. with verbs, and by 15c. even with other adjectives (for example crispy). Adjectives such as hugy, vasty are artificial words that exist for the sake of poetical metrics.
sniffle v.
"snuffle slightly," 1819, frequentative form of sniff (v.). Related: Sniffled; sniffling.
As a noun, "an act of sniffling," by 1880; the sniffles "runny nose, head cold" is recorded from 1825. Sniffly (1897) tends to refer to physical symptoms, "characterized by sniffling;" while sniffy (1858) means "inclined to be scornful, disdainful and disagreeable." Snuffy "annoyed" is from 1670s; also compare huffy, miffy.