"Penner" as an original etymology

Question

See prior question about its meaning: Penner as an Insult?.

Pfeifer gives indecisive derivations from Yiddish, Hebrew and Gaunersprache, as if there are no older German cognates: 1. "jiddisch pannai ‘müßig’, hebr. penaj ‘(freie) Zeit’, or 2. "Bonne ‘ein Haus, wo Spitzbuben ein und aus gehen’ (Ende 17. Jh.)", "Vielleicht zu jidd. bono ‘er hat gebaut’" (dwds.de).

Bavarian does in fact have a root pno- in seemingly onomatopoeic meaning (Bayerisches Wörterbuch, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften), which corresponds to English sneeze, older fnesen, also Greek pnein "breath" (etymonline.com, lsj.gr, which see for more). This appears to be archaic and it evidently includes a sense of snoring = sleeping in Bavarian.

Why are etymologists snoozing on this root?

_{Note also the Bett in bettelnder Bettler. The semantic range of lying down, on the ground etc. is fairly wide!}

Answer 1

It is maybe not the origin of the word "Penner" (colloq. derog.; homeless, hobo, bum; also related, but not primarily: beggar) but there are connotations like:

• "pennen" - kipping, sleeping (colloq.)
• "pennen gehen" - lie down to sleep/kip (colloq.) or "crap out".

Since "Penner" often are associated with the preconception of lying on the ground sleeping somewhere in the pedestrian zones (considered also being drunk), there might be a correlation between "Penner" and "pennen".

Relating Penner to the mentioned pno- or pnein is somewhat far fetched, because those are closer associated to "air" and "air pressure" like in "pneu", "pneumatic" (and therefore leading to "sneezing"). A "pneu" is also a word for a (bicycle) tire, because it is filled with air under a certain pressure.

Your note of seeing "Bett" in "bettelnd" is kinda sweet, tho. I don't think they are related. "Betteln" (to beg, begging) surely has its origin in "Bitten" (to ask/request/plea).