The Spanish verb 'estornudar' (to sneeze) comes from the Latin word 'sternutare', which specifically meant 'to sneeze repeatedly'. 'Sternutare' itself was derived from the Latin 'sternuere', which meant 'to sneeze once'. The evolution from 'sternutare' to 'estornudar' shows typical sound changes from Latin to Spanish, including the addition of an initial 'e-' (a common feature in Spanish words derived from Latin words beginning with 's' + consonant) and the change of '-t-' to '-d-' between vowels.

A related Spanish word is 'estornudo', which is the noun form meaning 'a sneeze'. This word follows the same etymological path as 'estornudar'.

While English 'sneeze' is not related to 'estornudar', there are some scientific English terms that share the Latin root, such as 'sternutation' (the act of sneezing) and 'sternutatory' (causing or provoking sneezing). These medical terms preserve the original Latin 'sternut-' root more closely than the Spanish word.