snail
/sneɪl/ · noun
Meaning
- Any of very many animals (either hermaphroditic or nonhermaphroditic), of the class Gastropoda, having a coiled shell.
- A slow person; a sluggard.
- A spiral cam, or a flat piece of metal of spirally curved outline, used for giving motion to, or changing the position of, another part, as the hammer tail of a striking clock.
- A tortoise or testudo; a movable roof or shed to protect besiegers.
- The pod of the snail clover.
- A locomotive with a prime mover but no traction motors, used to provide extra electrical power to another locomotive.
- To move or travel very slowly.
Etymology / origin
From Middle English snayl, snail, from the Old English sneġel, from Proto-Germanic *snagilaz. Cognate with Low German Snagel, Snâel, Snâl (“snail”), German Schnegel (“slug”). Compare also Old Norse snigill, from Proto-Germanic *snigilaz.
- *snigilaz(gem-pro)→
- snigill(Old Norse)→
- Schnegel(German)→
- Snagel(nds)→
- *snagilaz(gem-pro)→
- sneġel(ang)→
- snayl(Middle English)→
- snail (English)
- Relations: inh, inh, inh, cog, cog, cog, cog
Related words
Descendant words
- Schnegel(German) (cog)
Sources
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