An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Schnauze
Schnauze, f., ‘snout, muzzle, nozzle,’ ModHG. only; an imitation of LG. snûte, Du. snuit, ‘snout,’ though wrongly influenced in its dental sound perhaps by MidHG. sniutzen, ModHG. schneuzen; comp. E. snout and the equiv. MidE. snoute. The form with a correctly permutated MidHG. ȥ, equiv. to ModHG. sz, is preserved in ModHG. (dial.) schnaußen, ‘to snarl, junket, suck.’ For further remarks see schneuzen.