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"S" Word Origins

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

“S” Word Origins

snappishness
Origin
From snappish + -ness.
snappy
Origin
From snap + the adjective-forming suffix -y.
snapshot
Origin
A compound of snap and shot, originally describing a quickly aimed, unplanned rifle shot.
snare
Old English
From Old English sneare ("noose, snare"), from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "loop" or "sling."
snarelike
Origin
From snare + -like.
snark
Origin
Noun sense “snide remark” as back-formation from snarky (1906), from obsolete snark (“to snore, snort”, verb) (1866), from Middle English *snarken (“to snore”), from Proto-West Germanic *snarkōn, equivalent to snore + -k. Compare Low German snarken, North Frisian snarke, Swedish snarka, German schnarchen, and English snort and snore. Of Germanic origin, but ultimately onomatopoeic.
snarky
Origin · 1990
From snark ("to snort") plus -y; the "sarcastic" meaning became widespread in the late 1990s.
snarl
Middle English
From Middle English snarlen, a frequentative form of snaren ("to trap, entangle"), related to snare.
snart
Origin
A blend of sneeze and fart.
snary
Origin
From snare + -y.
snatch
Middle English
From Middle English snacchen ("to snap, seize"), related to snack.
snatcher
Origin
From snatch + the agent suffix -er.
snazzy
Origin
Origin uncertain; possibly a blend of "snappy" and "jazzy."
snead
Origin
Variant of Sneed.
sneak
Old English
From Old English snīcan ("to creep"), related to the word "snake" — both describe low, quiet movement.
sneak peek
English
From 'sneak', to move or act secretly, plus 'peek', a quick look. The pairing is reinforced by the rhyme.
sneaker
Origin
From sneak + -er — named for how quietly rubber-soled shoes let you walk.
sneaky link
English
From 'sneaky' plus 'link', British and Caribbean slang for meeting up with or dating someone ('linking').
sneap
Origin
The verb is a variant of snape, from Middle English snaipen (“to injure; of sleet or snow: to nip; to criticize, rebuke, revile”) [and other forms], from Old Norse sneypa (“to disgrace, dishonour; to outrage”), from Proto-Germanic *snaupijaną, from Proto-Germanic *snūpaną, *snūbaną (“to cut, snap”); further origin unknown. The noun is derived from the verb.
sneer
Old English
From Middle English sneren, ultimately traced back to an Old English word meaning "to snort."
sneeze
Origin
From an older English word fnēosan ("to sneeze, snort") — the initial "fn-" sound gradually shifted to "sn-" in English, the same change seen in "snore" and "snort."
snell
Old English
From Old English snell ("lively, quick"), related to German schnell ("fast") and Dutch snel.
snick
Origin
Probably from snick or snee.
snickelway
Origin
Blend of snicket + ginnel + alleyway. Coined by Mark W. Jones in 1983 in his book A Walk Around the Snickelways of York.
snicker
Origin
The American form of British "snigger," likely imitative of the sound of a suppressed laugh.
Snickers
Origin · 1930
Named in 1930 after a favourite horse belonging to the Mars family, who created the candy bar.
snicket
Origin
Etymology unknown.
snicklefritz
Origin
From German or Pennsylvania German, related to German Schnickschnack (“chatter”) (see schnacken, *schnicken) + -el + Fritz (a nickname derived from Friedrich), thus probably originally denoting someone chatty or impulsive.
snide
Origin
Origin uncertain, possibly linked to a dialect word meaning "sharp" or "cutting."
sniff
Middle English
From Middle English sniffen, thought to imitate the sound of the action.
sniffer
Origin
From sniff + -er.
sniffle
Origin
From sniff + the frequentative ending -le, suggesting a repeated small action — compare "snivel."
snigger
Origin
British variant pronunciation and spelling of snicker.
sniggersome
Origin
From snigger + -some.
sniggle
Origin
From an alteration (perhaps due to giggle) of snigger, itself a variant of snicker.
snip
German
From Dutch or Low German snippen ("to snip, shred"), likely imitating the sound of scissors.
snipe
Old Norse
From Old Norse snípa (a type of bird). The verb sense came later, from British soldiers in India who called a skilled hunter of the elusive snipe bird a "sniper."
sniper
Origin
From snipe + -er, originally describing a hunter skilled enough to shoot the hard-to-hit snipe bird.
snipper
Origin
From snip + -er.
snippet
Origin
From snip + -et. Compare snippock.
snippetiness
Origin
From snippety + -ness.
snippety
Origin
From snippet + -y.
snippish
Origin
From snip + -ish.
snippy
Origin
From snip + -y. Compare Saterland Frisian snippig, snippich (“short, brief, blunt”), Dutch snippig (“snippy, shrill”), German Low German snippig (“snippy, snappy”), German schnippisch (“snippy, snappy”).
snitch
Middle English
Origin uncertain — possibly linked to a Middle English word for a trap or sudden seizure, or a dialect variant of "sneak."
snitcher
Origin
From snitch + -er.
snitchy
Origin
From snitch + -y.
snithe
Origin
Verb from Middle English snithen, from Old English snīþan (“to cut, make an incision, cut off, lance or amputate, cut up or to pieces, cut so as to kill, slay an animal, hew down, cut stone, hew, cut hair, cut corn, reap, mow”), from Proto-West Germanic *snīþan, from Proto-Germanic *snīþaną (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *sneyt- (“to cut”). Noun from Middle English snithe (“cutting, sharp”), from snithen (“to cut”), see above. Cognate with Saterland Frisian sniede (“to cut”), West Frisian snije (“to cut”), Dutch snijden (“to cut, carve, intersect”), Low German snieden (“to cut”), German schneiden (“to cut, trim, slice”), Swedish snida (“to carve, engrave”), Icelandic sníða (“to trim, tailor”). Related to snide.