snithe

Etymology

The verb comes from Middle English snithen, which developed 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”). The noun comes from Middle English snithe (“cutting, sharp”), from snithen (“to cut”), as above. It is 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”) and Icelandic sníða (“to trim, tailor”), and is related to snide.