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snape

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Snape¹

Where it comes from

First attested in the late 18th century. Derived from various villages in England and southern Scotland sharing this name.

proper noun

  1. A village in Snape with Thorp parish, North Yorkshire, England, previously in Hambleton district (OS grid ref SE2684).
  2. A village and civil parish in East Suffolk district, Suffolk, England, previously in Suffolk Coastal district (OS grid ref TM3958).
  3. A surname from Old English.

snape²

  • /sneɪp/ US, UK

Rhymes with -eɪp

Where it comes from

Origin obscure. Perhaps from snape, a dialectal variant of sneap (“to nip, bite, pinch”). More at sneap.

verb snapes · snaping · snaped

  1. To bevel the end of a timber to fit against an inclined surface. It had to be accurately cut and trimmed, and its upper edge scored to suit the snaping of every beam end.

snape³

  • /sneɪp/ US, UK

Rhymes with -eɪp

Where it comes from

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 *snupaną, *snubaną (“to cut; to snap”); further origin unknown. Doublet of sneap.

verb snapes · snaping · snaped

  1. UK, archaic, dialectal, transitive To check or curtail (the growth of something); also, to check or curtail the growth of (a plant, etc.).
  2. UK, archaic, dialectal, transitive Synonym of sneap (“to check or abruptly reprove (someone); to chide, to rebuke, to reprimand”). The colnel (sic) I dont think like him much. I undirstand (sic) he was always snaping him.

    Similar: sneap

  3. UK, archaic, dialectal, intransitive To chide, to rebuke, to reprimand. He saw nothing, heard nothing, rushed on, he knew not whither, snaping, and uttering hoarse cries.

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MLA

"snape." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/snape. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

snape. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/snape

Chicago

"snape." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/snape.

BibTeX
@misc{snape_2026,
  title = {snape},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/snape},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}