snailn.1
/sneɪl/, U.S. /sneɪl/ 1. † b. A tortoise or turtle. Obsolete.
a. One or other of the terrestrial or freshwater gasteropods having a well-developed spiral or whorled shell capable of housing the whole body; also formerly (and still dialect and Scottish) a slug.The common types of the true snail belong to the genus Helix (esp. H. aspersa or hortensis, the common garden-snail, and H. pomatia, the edible snail) or Clausilia, of the family Helicidæ.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > member of
snailc725
gasteropod1826
branchio-gasteropod1877
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > order Pulmonifera > member of
snailc725
dodmana1563
pulmonian1839
pulmonate1842
lung snail1909
α.
β. c825 Epinal Gloss. 611 Limax, snel.c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 122 Chelio,..sæsnæl.] c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxi. 96 Þer er in þat land so grete snyles þat in þaire schelles three men or foure may be herberd.c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 157 He commandid þat þis vglie burth..sulde be closid in a stone, as a snyle is in hur shell.1483 Cath. Angl. 346/2 A Snele,..limax.γ. c1305 Land Cokayne 40 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 157 Þe lond is ful of oþer gode... Þer nis dunnir, slete, no hawle, No non vile worme no snawile.in extended use.?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 36 They were wont in olde time, to haue paynted Snayles in their houses.1851 J. R. Planché Pursuivant of Arms (1873) 125 Snails are borne by the family of Shelley.figurative.1590 ‘Pasquil’ First Pt. Pasquils Apol. sig. D2v I wonder how these seelie snayles, creeping but yesterdaie out of shoppes and Grammer schooles, dare thrust out theyr feeble hornes.1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden Ep. Ded. sig. B It shall neuer put foorth his snayles hornes again.c725 Corpus Gloss. C 630 Cocleae, lytle sneglas.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 110 Gif næddre slea man, þone blacan snegl awærc on halig wætre.
c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 121 Limax, snægl. Testudo, gehused snægl.
a1250 Owl & Nightingale 87 Snayles Mus and fule wihte Beoþ þine cunde.
a1400 Coer de L. 3836 Anon they..gunne to drawen in her hornes, As a snayl among the thornes.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) xv. 169 Thei anoynten here Hondes and here Feet with a juyce made of Snayles.
1412–20 J. Lydgate tr. Hist. Troy ii. 3313 Wrinkled double, like an hornyd snail.
1542 A. Borde Compend. Regyment Helth viii. sig. E.ii Beware that you do not lye in..such chambres as myse, rattes, and snayles resorteth vnto.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Gv As the snaile, whose tender hornes being hit, Shrinks backward in his shellie caue. View more context for this quotation
1630 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. §xxix See there, two Snayles; One hath an house, the other wants it; yet both are Snayles.
1683 T. Tryon Way to Health 226 If People were sensible of the hurt they do, they would no more eat them, than they would Frogs, Snales.
1727 J. Gay Fables I. xxiv. 82 A Snail, Beneath his house, with slimy trail Crawls o'er the grass.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VII. 28 The noise which the snail makes in moving the water.
1803 W. Bingley Animal Biogr. III. 552 The common Garden Snail.
1841 T. R. Jones Gen. Outl. Animal Kingdom xxiii. 395 The common Snails..not unfrequently become formidable pests to the horticulturist, from the ravages caused by their voracity.
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the world > animals > reptiles > order Chelonia (turtles and tortoises) > [noun] > member of
snaila1387
testudo?1527
chelonian1828
testudinian1854
testudinate1880
cheloniad1881
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 377 Whan þis snayl was i-roted, þe senewes were i-streyned with ynne þe skyn of þe snayles hous.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xviii. cvii Þere beþ foure manere [snails], londe snailles & see stronde snailles & venny snailles..[1495 and ryuer snayles].
c. Applied to various animals allied to, or resembling, the snails or slugs. (Cf. sea-snail n.)
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the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > unspecified types of
snail?1541
rock shell1674
white-ear1854
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > order Pulmonifera > Inoperculata > family Limacidae > unspecified type
snail?1541
jet slug1882
?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens iv. sig. Niij The moste dyfference is of blode lettynge, for it draweth the blode deper than the boxynge or the snayles [= leeches].
1666 J. Davies tr. C. de Rochefort Hist. Caribby-Islands 78 There is a kind of Snailes, called by the French Soldats that is Souldiers, because they have no shells proper and peculiar to themselves.
1731 G. Medley tr. P. Kolb Present State Cape Good-Hope II. 209 The Nabel-Snail has an upper and an under Shell, like a Muscle.
1731 G. Medley tr. P. Kolb Present State Cape Good-Hope II. 208 The Shell of the Sea-Porcupine Snail is..arm'd on almost every Part with long Prickles.
1783 J. O. Justamond tr. G. T. F. Raynal Philos. Hist. Europeans in Indies (new ed.) IV. 134 On the coast of Guayaquil..are found those snails which yield the purple dye so celebrated by the antients.
1794 Reports Agric. Survey Camb. 111 In the first stage of this disease [sc. the blood-rot] the liver has not been infected with the snails, or plaice [= liver-fluke].
1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 337/1 The Janthina, or Oceanic Snail.
1865 Mrs. L. L. Clarke Common Seaweeds i. 23 As we gather a bunch of seaweed, we shake out dozens of a pretty little snail called Rissoa.
1884 [see snail-bore n. at Compounds 2]. 2.
a. Used with reference or allusion to the exceptionally slow motion of the snail.
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the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > [noun] > one who or that which moves slowly > snail as type of
snailOE
OE Riddle 40 70 Nis zefferus, se swifta wind, þæt swa fremlice mæg feran æghwær; me is snægl swiftra, snelra regnwyrm ond fenyce fore hreþre.
1533 J. Heywood Mery Play Iohan Iohan sig. B.iv Go and hye the as fast as a snayle.
1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. I4 A man may bee as slowe as a Snaile, but as fierce as a Lyon.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 252 I..went forward like a snaile, till despairing of going further I fell upon the ground.
1653 J. Collinges Responsoria ad Erratica Piscatoris xiii. sig. K4 Sure..our Saviour drave snails as he went, he reckons so long for his journey.
1778 F. Burney Evelina III. xiv. 140 During our whole ride, I thought the carriage drawn by snails.
1821 W. Combe Third Tour Dr. Syntax xxxvi. 120 He, by degrees, would seldom fail T' adopt the gallop of a snail.
1862 C. C. Robinson Dial. Leeds & Neighbourhood 406 As slaw as a sneel.
1881 E. A. Freeman in W. R. W. Stephens Life & Lett. E. A. Freeman (1895) II. 244 Riding..at the pace of a snail.
b. snail's gallop, snail's pace, an excessively slow or tardy pace, rate of progress or motion, etc.
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the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > [noun] > slow movement or progress > a slow pace
snail's pacea1400
tortoise-pace1690
snail's gallop1707
a1400–50 Alexander 4095 Þan snyȝes þar, out of þat snyth hill as with a snayles pas, A burly best.
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Testudineus gradus, a slowe pase: a snayles pase.
1707 J. Stevens tr. F. de Quevedo Comical Wks. (1709) 398 A Physician riding along on his Mule, a Snails Gallop.
1791 ‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsemanship iv. 19 Neither whip nor spur can get him out of a snail's gallop.
1793 F. Burney Lett. 12 Sept. That snail's pace with which business is done by letters.
1816 Sporting Mag. 47 32 Every thing short of eight miles per hour is accounted snail's pace.
1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain I. xvi. 331 The snail's pace at which we were proceeding.
1901 Scotsman 5 Nov. 6/8 For a time they were able to get along at a snail's gallop, men leading the horses with torches and lanterns.
c. A slow or indolent person; a sluggard.
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the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > [noun] > one who or that which is slow
sloweOE
tarrier1382
sluggard1398
slugc1425
slugger1539
lingerer1579
snaila1593
slowcoach1828
slowpoke1847
go-slow1858
slowie1901
slow boat to China1919
swiftie1945
the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > [noun] > tardiness or sluggishness > person
sloweOE
tarrier1382
sluggard1398
slugc1425
lagger1523
slugger1539
snaila1593
loiterer1684
laggard1808
slowpoke1847
the world > action or operation > inaction > disinclination to act or listlessness > [noun] > sluggishness or heaviness > person
sluggard1398
slugc1425
dawa1500
belly huddroun?a1513
slowbelly1526
luggard?1528
heavy arse1530
slugger1539
druggard1569
slowback1577
snaila1593
slugplum1593
druggle1611
dawdlea1764
laggard1808
doldrum1812
dawdler1818
slowcoach1828
lag-last1830
slowpoke1847
morepork1874
slob1876
slow boat to China1919
schlump1941
a1593 H. Smith Serm. (1866) II. 83 Every snail shall step before thee, and take thy crown from thee.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) ii. ii. 197 Dromio, thou Dromio, thou snaile, thou slug. View more context for this quotation
1652 R. Brome Joviall Crew iv. i. sig. K1v When he comes he comes apace. He is no Snayle, I assure you.
1915 Dial. Notes 4 198 We'll have to wait for Edith. She's such a snail.
1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren xvii. 366 He [sc. a latecomer] is a..Snail.
a. A structure or formation resembling a snail-shell; a testudo. Obsolete.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > engine of war > [noun] > movable shed
sow1297
mantel1357
snail1408
vinet1408
whelk1408
circlec1440
barbed-cat1489
mantle1489
mantlet1524
vine1565
tortoise1569
sow-guard1582
penthouse1600
penticle1600
target-roof1601
vinea1601
fence-roof1609
testudo1609
cat-house1614
vineyard1650
tortoiseshell1726
manta1829
cat1833
ram-house1850
tortoise-roof1855
bear1865
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [noun] > a spiral > spiral conformation or character
snail1408
spiration1673
spirality1853
1408 tr. Vegetius' De Re Milit. iv. xiv. (Laud 416) The gynne that is clepid the snaile or þe wilk is a frame made of good tymbyr.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 66/2 Cercle, clepyd the snayle, as of pentys, and other lyke, spira.
1610 W. Folkingham Feudigraphia i. xii. 44 Ground-plots are..Externall, as Groues, Arbours, Bowers,..Mounts, Mazes, Snailes.
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society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [noun] > other formations
herse1523
shears1562
snail1579
rendy1581
saw battle1598
shear-battle1598
file1616
horn battle1635
sconce-battle1635
potence1760
echelon1796
marching order1819
harrow1876
zariba1887
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 399 As for the order of their battelles, they knewe not what it ment, nor to cast them selues into a snaill or ringe.
1581 T. Styward Pathwaie to Martiall Discipline i. 67 How to bring them into a Ring, an Esse, or a Snaile, verie profitable for young Souldiers.
1591 W. Garrard & R. Hitchcock Arte of Warre 87 This order of a D. otherwise called a snaile.
4. plural. A species of medick (usually Medicago scutellata) having snail-shaped seed-pods.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Compositae (composite plants) > [noun] > medicks
medick?1440
snail clover1548
heart trefoil1597
snails1629
melilot trefoil1677
Barbary buttons1712
black-seed1763
snail-plant1767
black medick1778
heart liver1792
snail-shell medick1796
spotted medick1825
hop1866
Calvary clover1882
1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole 339 Medica spinosa altera. Small thorney Buttons, or Snailes.
1730 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. at Medica Cochleata The Snail-Trefoil, commonly call'd in the Seed-shops Snails.
1736 Compl. Family-piece ii. iii. 297 Sow these Dwarf annual Flowers.., Snails and Catterpillars.
1845 A. Wood Class-bk. Bot. ii. 117 M. scutellata... Cultivated among flowers for the curiosity of its pods, which much resemble snail shells... Snail.
1858 R. Hogg Veg. Kingdom 269 Some years ago..some..were admitted into the annual flower borders under the singular names of Snails, Bee-hives,..and similar names suggested by the fancied resemblance of their pods to these subjects.
1866 [see snail-flower n. at Compounds 2]. 5. Mechanics.
a. A flat, spirally curved piece of metal; esp. a toothed disc of this shape forming part of the striking mechanism of a clock; a spiral cam.
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the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > part(s) of
nut1428
peise1428
plumbc1450
Jack1498
clockwork1516
larum1542
Jack of the clockhouse1563
watch-wheel1568
work1570
plummeta1578
Jack of the clock1581
snail-cam1591
snail-work1591
pointer1596
quarter jack1604
mainspring1605
winder1606
notch-wheel1611
fusee1622
count-wheel1647
jack-wheel1647
frame1658
arbor1659
balance1660
fuse1674
hour-figure1675
stop1675
pallet1676
regulator1676
cock1678
movement1678
detent1688
savage1690
clock1696
pinwheel1696
starred wheel1696
swing-wheel1696
warning-wheel1696
watch1696
watch-part1696
hoop-wheel1704
hour-wheel1704
snail1714
step-wheel1714
tide-work1739
train1751
crutch1753
cannon pinion1764
rising board1769
remontoire1774
escapement1779
clock jack1784
locking plate1786
scapement1789
motion work1795
anchor escapement1798
scape1798
star-wheel1798
recoil escapement1800
recoiling pallet1801
recoiling scapement1801
cannon1802
hammer-tail1805
recoiling escapement1805
bottle jack1810
renovating spring1812
quarter-boy1815
pin tooth1817
solar wheel1819
impulse-teeth1825
pendulum wheel1825
pallet arbor1826
rewinder1826
rack hook1829
snail-wheel1831
quarter bell1832
tow1834
star pulley1836
watch train1838
clock train1843
raising-piece1843
wheelwork1843
gravity escapement1850
jumper1850
vertical escapement1850
time train1853
pin pallet1860
spade1862
dead well1867
stop-work1869
ringer1873
strike-or-silent1875
warning-piece1875
guard-pin1879
pendulum cock1881
warning-lever1881
beat-pin1883
fusee-piece1884
fusee-snail1884
shutter1884
tourbillion1884
tumbler1884
virgule1884
foliot1899
grasshopper1899
grasshopper escapement1899
trunk1899
pin lever1908
clock spring1933
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > other parts > [noun] > converters > cams
snail-cam1591
snail-work1591
snail1714
cam1777
heart wheel1786
snail-wheel1831
heart1834
heart cam1835
1714 W. Derham Artific. Clock-maker (ed. 3) i. 7 The Snail, or Step-Wheel in Repeating Clocks.
1765 Ann. Reg. 1764 i. 79/1 The hour snail and star.
1765 Ann. Reg. 1764 i. 79/1 The quarter and half quarter snail.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 38 The collar..is formed like a snail or camm, which will act upon either of the levers.
1846 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. II. 942 The punch being driven through the plate by one revolution of a snail or cam.
1881 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockmakers' Handbk. (ed. 4) 115 Clockmakers generally mark off the snail on the clock itself after the rest of the striking work is planted.
b. (See quot. 1845.)
ΚΠ
1845 Encycl. Metrop. VIII. 280/1 The German snail is an apparatus of nearly the same kind [as the Archimedes' screw]; it consists of a cylinder with its spiral projections detached from the external cylinder or coating within which it revolves.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a. (In sense 1.)
(a)
snail-broth n.
ΚΠ
a1756 E. Haywood New Present (1771) 41 Snail Broth.
snail-culture n.
ΚΠ
1875 Chambers's Jrnl. 12 46 Any one desiring a lesson in snail-culture, may learn all about it in the Tyrol.
snail-eater n.
ΚΠ
1889 Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip 25 281/1 I would suggest that conchologists pay some attention to..these snail-eaters.
snail-feast n.
ΚΠ
1875 Chambers's Jrnl. 12 46 The Newcastle glassmakers hold an annual snail-feast.
snail-garden n.
ΚΠ
1895 A. H. Cooke in Cambr. Nat. Hist. III. iv. 119 Escargotières, or snail-gardens, still exist in many parts of Europe.
snail-kind n.
ΚΠ
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VII. 19 Turbinated Shell-Fish of the Snail Kind.
snail-market n.
ΚΠ
1883 Science 1 492/1 A small open square used as a snail-market.
snail-oil n.
ΚΠ
1887 R. Jefferies Amaryllis at Fair xxxii My sister, as was in a decline, used to have snail-oil rubbed into her back.
snail-paste n.
ΚΠ
1861 R. T. Hulme tr. C. H. Moquin-Tandon Elements Med. Zool. ii. iii. ii. 85 A snail paste which enjoyed a certain amount of repute.
snail-pattern n.
ΚΠ
1900 Daily News 13 Oct. 6/6 Circular lines of fine black braid following each other in what is called the snail pattern.
snail-stew n.
ΚΠ
1803 W. Bingley Animal Biogr. III. 553 The Romans..kept these animals in what were called the Cochlearia or Snail Stews.
snail-trace n.
ΚΠ
1966 J. Merrill Nights & Days 42 The brief snail-trace Of her withdrawal dries upon our faces.
snail-track n.
ΚΠ
1930 D. H. Lawrence Nettles 20 All those nasty police-eyes like snail-tracks smearing the gentle souls that figure in the paint.
snail-tribe n.
ΚΠ
1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farming 355 This Slug is a small whitish Insect..of the Snail Tribe.
1896 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. VI. 345 The Snail Tribe,—Family Helicidæ.
snail-water n.
ΚΠ
1682 G. Hartman True Preserver & Restorer of Health i. 21 (heading) Dr. Harvey his Excellent Snail-water against Consumptions and Hectick Feavers.
1712 J. Browne tr. P. Pomet et al. Compl. Hist. Druggs I. 206 Mix it with Snail-Water, or Bean-Flower-Water, to make a Virgin's Milk, or Wash of.
(b)
snail-green adj.
ΚΠ
1931 V. Woolf Waves 25 Louis regards the wall opposite with snail-green eyes.
snail-nacreous adj.
ΚΠ
1923 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers (London ed.) 60 Cyclamen leaves..Spurned with mud Snail-nacreous Low down.
snail-nosed adj.
ΚΠ
1960 S. Plath Colossus 10 In their jars the snail-nosed babies moon and glow.
snail-shaped adj.
ΚΠ
1780 Encycl. Brit. VI. 4572/1 With small yellow flowers, succeeded by small, round, snail-shaped fruit.
1845 J. Lindley School Bot. (1858) v. 56 Medicago orbicularis (Snails). Legumes unarmed, snail-shaped, orbicular.
b. Used attributively to denote: Exceptionally tardy or slow.
ΚΠ
1555 J. Heywood Two Hundred Epigrammes with Thyrde sig. D.iv So may it run, runnynge but a snayle pace.
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Snail-gallop, a very slow motion, like that of a snail.
1845 E. Holmes Life Mozart 29 The Court delayed to pay them, and their affairs, in German phrase, travelled ‘by the snail post’.
c. In senses 3, 5, as snail-cam, snail-mount, snail-movement, snail-piece, snail-work.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > part(s) of
nut1428
peise1428
plumbc1450
Jack1498
clockwork1516
larum1542
Jack of the clockhouse1563
watch-wheel1568
work1570
plummeta1578
Jack of the clock1581
snail-cam1591
snail-work1591
pointer1596
quarter jack1604
mainspring1605
winder1606
notch-wheel1611
fusee1622
count-wheel1647
jack-wheel1647
frame1658
arbor1659
balance1660
fuse1674
hour-figure1675
stop1675
pallet1676
regulator1676
cock1678
movement1678
detent1688
savage1690
clock1696
pinwheel1696
starred wheel1696
swing-wheel1696
warning-wheel1696
watch1696
watch-part1696
hoop-wheel1704
hour-wheel1704
snail1714
step-wheel1714
tide-work1739
train1751
crutch1753
cannon pinion1764
rising board1769
remontoire1774
escapement1779
clock jack1784
locking plate1786
scapement1789
motion work1795
anchor escapement1798
scape1798
star-wheel1798
recoil escapement1800
recoiling pallet1801
recoiling scapement1801
cannon1802
hammer-tail1805
recoiling escapement1805
bottle jack1810
renovating spring1812
quarter-boy1815
pin tooth1817
solar wheel1819
impulse-teeth1825
pendulum wheel1825
pallet arbor1826
rewinder1826
rack hook1829
snail-wheel1831
quarter bell1832
tow1834
star pulley1836
watch train1838
clock train1843
raising-piece1843
wheelwork1843
gravity escapement1850
jumper1850
vertical escapement1850
time train1853
pin pallet1860
spade1862
dead well1867
stop-work1869
ringer1873
strike-or-silent1875
warning-piece1875
guard-pin1879
pendulum cock1881
warning-lever1881
beat-pin1883
fusee-piece1884
fusee-snail1884
shutter1884
tourbillion1884
tumbler1884
virgule1884
foliot1899
grasshopper1899
grasshopper escapement1899
trunk1899
pin lever1908
clock spring1933
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > other parts > [noun] > converters > cams
snail-cam1591
snail-work1591
snail1714
cam1777
heart wheel1786
snail-wheel1831
heart1834
heart cam1835
1591 in Gentleman's Mag. (1779) 49 81 The 3. and last was a Snaylmount, rising to four circles of green priuie hedges.
1803 Trans. Soc. Arts 21 399 The snail-piece to raise a weight somewhat similar.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 19 The wedge, placed on the internal face of the circle,..causing..the obstacle..to approach nearer to the centre..; this is called the snail movement.
1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 149 This traverse movement is effected by an endless screw and toothed-wheel, or snail-work.
1902 W. J. Dibdin Public Lighting 77 Motion was given to the reflecting screen by a fine chain wound upon a snail cam.
C2. Special combinations.† snail clover n. Obsolete (a) lucerne; (b) sainfoin.† snail clover-grass n. Obsolete sainfoin.† snail-crawled adj. Obsolete crawling as slow as a snail.† snail-trefoil n. Obsolete (a) lucerne; (b) snail-plant.
snail-bore n. U.S. a shellfish ( Urosalpinx cinerea) which injures oysters by boring.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Holostomata > member of family Naticidae
snail-bore1884
1884 E. Ingersoll in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 696 These small ‘Snails’, ‘Drills’, ‘Borers’, and ‘Snail-bores’, as they are variously called.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fodder plants > [noun] > alfalfa or lucerne
medick?1440
medicac1487
snail-trefoil1548
snail clover1597
Burgundy hay1600
lucerne1652
nonsuch1662
alfalfa1764
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 1029 Of Medick fodder, or Snaile Clauer..: the flowers are very small, and..turne into round wrinckled knobs, like the water snaile.
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique v. xviii. 697 There is not..any pulse..more pretious for the feeding of beastes then snaile clauer, called in French Sainct foin.
1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. 327 Snail Clover, Medicago.
1849 Rep. U.S. Comm. Patents, Agric. (1850) 163 A thick cover..of a rank-growing species of medicago or snail-clover.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fodder plants > [noun] > sainfoin
cock's head1553
red fitchling1597
French grass1652
sainfoin1652
esperate1659
holy haya1661
esparcet1669
red fitch1671
snail clover-grass1717
holy grass1778
1717 Dict. Rusticum (ed. 2) at Saint Foin Otherwise call'd..Snail or Horned Clover-grass.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > [adjective] > moving slowly
slowa1398
slow-movingc1450
slow-bellied1554
lazya1568
slow-footed1587
slow-paced1594
leaden-footed1596
snaily1596
snail-paced1597
dragglinga1599
leaden-heeled1598
ambling1600
slow-foot1607
sluggisha1616
slow-pacing1616
tortoise-paced1623
slow-going1634
leaden-stepping1645
tardigradous1652
tardigrade1656
snail-crawleda1658
dawdling1773
loitering1791–2
slow-stepping1793
creepy1794
lugging1816
tortoise-footed1818
crawling1820
creepy-crawly1858
slowing1877
lead-foot1896
soodling1951
a1658 J. Cleveland To T. C. 13, in Wks. (1687) If thou wilt needs to Sea, O must it be In an old Galliasse of sixty three; A Snail-crawl'd Bottom?
snail-creep n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > surfacing or cladding > [noun] > pointing
pointing1374
snail-creep1593
teething1844
dinging1873
flat pointing1881
tuck pointing1881
1593 Will of Katherine Kelleway (P.R.O.: PROB. 11/81) f. 96v One dozen of snaile creepe worke.
1887 Dict. Archit. (Archit. Publ. Soc.) Snail creep. The common form of pointing granite or limestone uncoursed walls.
snail-creeping n. (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > constructing or working with wood > [noun] > cutting tongues or grooves
snail-creeping1792
ploughing1793
tonguing1862
1792 Ann. Agric. 18 41 The ends of the beams [of the Royal William]..had been gouged in a manner then [in 1719] practised, which was called snail-creeping.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 635 Snail-Creeping, gouging out the surfaces of timbers in crooked channels, to promote a circulation of air.
snail darter n. [compare darter n. 5] a small freshwater fish, Percina tanasi, belonging to the family Percidæ, and found in certain rivers of the U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Percidae (perches) > [noun] > genus Percina > member of (snail darter)
snail darter1975
1975 U.S. Federal Reg. 17 June 25597/2 The Fish and Wildlife Service has evidence on hand that the snail darter Percina (Imostoma) sp. is an endangered species.
1977 Time 11 Apr. 17/2 The Mississippi sand-hill crane and the three-inch snail darter of the Little Tennessee River have already halted state and federal bulldozers.
1981 Science 15 May 761/3 Populations of snail darters have been found in three new places... If they turn out to be established populations the fish may no longer be an endangered species... The snail darter may be reclassified as a ‘threatened’..species.
snail-eater n. Ornithology = openbill n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Ciconiiformes (storks, etc.) > [noun] > family Ciconiidae (stork) > genus Anastomus (open-bill)
openbill1837
open-beak1838
shell-eater1869
gaper1871
shell-ibis1894
snail-eater1894
clapper-bill1906
1894 A. Newton et al. Dict. Birds: Pt. III 655 Shell-eater, Shell-Ibis, and Snail-eater.
snail-fish n. a fish related to the lumpsucker.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > order Scorpaeniformes (scorpion-fish) > [noun] > family Cyclopteridae (lump-fishes) > member of genus Liparis (sea-snail)
sea-snail1686
burgau1753
sucker1753
suck-fish1753
unctuous sucker1776
Montagu's sucker1812
Montagu's sea snail1835
Montagu's sucking fish1836
snail-fish1840
1840 E. Blyth et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom 324 There are one or two British species [of Leparus or Liparis], some of which are called ‘Snail-fishes’, from their soft and unctuous texture.
snail-flower n. (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > seed > seed-vessel or pericarp > [noun] > other types of seed-vessel
snail-flower1688
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > other leguminous plants
peaseOE
vetchc1400
hatchet vetch1548
mock liquorice1548
scorpion's tail1548
ax-fitch1562
ax-seed1562
axwort1562
treacle clover1562
lady's finger1575
bird's-foot1578
goat's rue1578
horseshoe1578
caterpillar1597
kidney-vetch1597
horseshoe-vetch1640
goat rue1657
kidney-fetch1671
galega1685
stanch1726
scorpion senna1731
Dolichos1753
Sophora1753
partridge pea1787
bauhinia1790
coronilla1793
swamp pea-tree1796
Mysore thorn1814
devil's shoestring1817
pencil flower1817
rattlebox1817
Canavalia1828
milk plant1830
joint-vetch1836
milk pea1843
prairie clover1857
oxytrope1858
rattleweed1864
wart-herb1864
snail-flower1866
poison pea1884
masu1900
money bush1924
Townsville stylo1970
orange bird's-foot2007
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 114/2 Snail Flower, or rather Snail Seed Vessel, is a kind of Pod, in form like a Snail house.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 1067/2 Snail~flower, Phaseolus Caracalla.
snail-house n. dialect a snail-shell.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > order Pulmonifera > member of > parts of > shell
shellc1400
snail-shell1530
snail-horn1672
snail-house1688
1688Snail-house [see snail-flower n.].
1882 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. Snail-housen, snail-shells.
snail-leech n. a species of leech which eats snails.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Annelida > [noun] > class Hirudinea > member of (leech)
leecha900
water leechc1350
bloodsuckera1387
lough-leech1562
loch leech1579
sanguisuge1585
censur1597
leech-worm1794
hirudinean1835
sangsuea1849
snail-leech1865
1865 Intellect. Obs. No. 44. 81 The different species of snail-leech.
snail-plant n. (see quot. 1866 and sense 4).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Compositae (composite plants) > [noun] > medicks
medick?1440
snail clover1548
heart trefoil1597
snails1629
melilot trefoil1677
Barbary buttons1712
black-seed1763
snail-plant1767
black medick1778
heart liver1792
snail-shell medick1796
spotted medick1825
hop1866
Calvary clover1882
1767 J. Abercrombie Every Man his Own Gardener (1803) 735/2 Snail Plant,..Caterpillar Plant.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 1067/2 Snail-plant. Medicago scutellata, and also M. Helix; the pods of these are called snails from their resemblance to those mollusks.
snail sea-cucumber n. (see quot. 1858).
ΚΠ
1858 W. Baird Cycl. Nat. Sci. Psolus phantapus, the snail sea cucumber, is a British species.
snail-seeded adj. having seed-pods resembling snails in form.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > seed > seed-vessel or pericarp > [adjective] > of pod or husk > having pod or pods
codded1440
shaledc1575
coddy1601
swaddy1611
swabby1659
siliquous1668
podded1682
multisiliquous1690
siliquiferous1693
siliquose1693
hully1727
bisiliquous1731
siliculose1731
snail-seeded1858
1858 R. G. Mayne Expos. Lexicon Med. Sci. (1860) 1116/1 Salsola Kali,..the snail-seeded glasswort, or saltwort.
snail-stone n. (see quots. 1611, 1797).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > order Pulmonifera > member of > parts of > stone found in head
snail-stone1611
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Pierre de Limaçon, the Snaile stone; found in the heads of some (dew) Snailes; tis white, somewhat transparent, and rugged.
1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis iii. i. i. 262 Divers others Snail-Stones; some of them of a Limy substance, others perfect Flint.
1700 E. Lhuyd Let. 12 Mar. in H. Rowlands Mona Antiqua Restaurata (1723) ii. 338 Besides the Snake-Stones,..the Highlanders have their Snail-Stones, Paddoc-Stones..to all which they attribute their several Virtues.
1797 Encycl. Brit. X. 76/2 It is in its [sc. the slug's] head and back that the snail-stone is found; which is a small pearled and sandy stone, of the nature of lime stones.
snail trail n. Needlework (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > sewn or ornamented textile fabric > [noun] > embroidery or ornamental sewing > stitch > other > series of
snail trail1899
1899 W. G. P. Townsend Embroidery vi. 94 Snail-trail,..the same principle as single coral, only worked more on the slope.
1948 C. Christopher Compl. Bk. Embroidery iii. 64 Snail Trail, or Knot Stitch, makes a series of simple knots connected with each other on the surface of the fabric.
1973 E. Wilson Embroidery Bk. (1975) vi. 322 Snail trail worked very close becomes Broad Rope stitch. When worked with the needle at right angles to the thread, instead of slanting, it becomes Coral.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fodder plants > [noun] > alfalfa or lucerne
medick?1440
medicac1487
snail-trefoil1548
snail clover1597
Burgundy hay1600
lucerne1652
nonsuch1662
alfalfa1764
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. E.iijv Medica..maye be called in englishe horned Clauer or snail Trifoly.
1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I Medica cochleata, Snail-Trefoil.
1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farming 279 The Plant commonly called La Lucerne is a Medic Clover, or by some called Snail Trefoyl.
1771 J. R. Forster Flora Amer. Septentrionalis 32 Medicago virginica, Snail Trefoil.
snail-wheel n. (see quot. 1846 and sense 5).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > part(s) of
nut1428
peise1428
plumbc1450
Jack1498
clockwork1516
larum1542
Jack of the clockhouse1563
watch-wheel1568
work1570
plummeta1578
Jack of the clock1581
snail-cam1591
snail-work1591
pointer1596
quarter jack1604
mainspring1605
winder1606
notch-wheel1611
fusee1622
count-wheel1647
jack-wheel1647
frame1658
arbor1659
balance1660
fuse1674
hour-figure1675
stop1675
pallet1676
regulator1676
cock1678
movement1678
detent1688
savage1690
clock1696
pinwheel1696
starred wheel1696
swing-wheel1696
warning-wheel1696
watch1696
watch-part1696
hoop-wheel1704
hour-wheel1704
snail1714
step-wheel1714
tide-work1739
train1751
crutch1753
cannon pinion1764
rising board1769
remontoire1774
escapement1779
clock jack1784
locking plate1786
scapement1789
motion work1795
anchor escapement1798
scape1798
star-wheel1798
recoil escapement1800
recoiling pallet1801
recoiling scapement1801
cannon1802
hammer-tail1805
recoiling escapement1805
bottle jack1810
renovating spring1812
quarter-boy1815
pin tooth1817
solar wheel1819
impulse-teeth1825
pendulum wheel1825
pallet arbor1826
rewinder1826
rack hook1829
snail-wheel1831
quarter bell1832
tow1834
star pulley1836
watch train1838
clock train1843
raising-piece1843
wheelwork1843
gravity escapement1850
jumper1850
vertical escapement1850
time train1853
pin pallet1860
spade1862
dead well1867
stop-work1869
ringer1873
strike-or-silent1875
warning-piece1875
guard-pin1879
pendulum cock1881
warning-lever1881
beat-pin1883
fusee-piece1884
fusee-snail1884
shutter1884
tourbillion1884
tumbler1884
virgule1884
foliot1899
grasshopper1899
grasshopper escapement1899
trunk1899
pin lever1908
clock spring1933
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > other parts > [noun] > converters > cams
snail-cam1591
snail-work1591
snail1714
cam1777
heart wheel1786
snail-wheel1831
heart1834
heart cam1835
1831 M. Edgeworth Let. 6 May (1971) 535 Inkstands that shut impervious to ink—insured by the snail wheel tightener.
1846 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. II. 891 The snail-wheel of a striking clock..has an edge formed in twelve steps, arranged spirally, the positions of which determine the number of strokes of the hammer on the bell.
Draft additions June 2018
snail kite n. a gregarious kite native to the Caribbean and tropical regions of the Americas, Rostrhamus sociabilis, which feeds chiefly on apple snails and has plumage of dark blue-grey (in the male) or brown (in the female).Also called Everglade kite.
ΚΠ
1933 Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 46 199 (title) The Cuban race of the snail kite, Rostrhamus sociabilis.
1981 Washington Post 18 Dec. a25/1 A snail kite, dark and gliding cleanly like a gull, soared overhead with a snail between its claws.
2010 Progress toward Restoring Everglades Third Biennial Rev. iv. 136 The population of snail kite has plummeted from more than 3,500 birds to fewer than 650 over the past decade.
Draft additions June 2001
snail mail n. (a) colloquial mail or post which takes a long time to be delivered; (b) Computing slang (originally U.S.) the physical delivery of mail, as by the postal service, considered as slow in comparison to electronic mail; a letter, etc., sent by post.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > correspondence > postal services > [noun]
pauchle1608
postage1650
mail1654
Royal Mail?1780
snail mail1929
society > communication > correspondence > letter > [noun] > letters, etc., by method of dispatch or conveyance
post-letter1648
ship-letterc1675
by-letter1685
penny-post letter1686
way letter1710
by-night1766
cross-letter1789
twopenny1818
box letter1827
non-paid1829
balloon-letter1870
pigeongram1875
railway letter1891
pneumatogram1894
airmail1918
aerogram1919
airgram1919
air letter1920
pneumatique1924
pneu1926
snail mail1929
aerogramme1934
airgraph1941
1929 Indianapolis Star 23 Dec. 1/3 (heading) Snail mail... Edward Ranton has just received a statement of account which the Wild Automobile Agency here mailed nearly three years ago.
1982 Reply to: Yacc Wizardry Sought in net.unix-wizards (Usenet newsgroup) 3 June Our Unix-Wizard mail is slower than snail mail these days.
1983 N.Y. Times 13 Sept. c4/6 Other terms, like snail mail, for messages delivered by the United States Postal Service, as opposed to those transported electronically, are more widely comprehensible.
1989 New Scientist 6 May 66/3 All this is so much more congenial than..what we electronic-sophisticates now call ‘snail mail’, that one can properly talk of a new age.
2000 Nation 14 Feb. 7/1 Many of those voices mobilized..firing off thousands of e-mail and snail-mail missives to the FCC.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† snailn.2
Obsolete.
= chenille n. Also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > ornamental trimmings > [noun] > chenille
snailing1688
chenille1733
snail1741
1741 Lady Pomfret Lett. (1805) III. 216 The dress of the nuns here is all white, with a black silk snail-string about their necks.
1744 A. Donnellan Let. 24 Sept. in E. J. Climenson Elizabeth Montagu (1906) I. 194 I have brought down a screen to work in snail for the Duchess.
1774 Ann. Reg. 1773 124 I'm compass'd now With worms instead of lovely snails.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
† snailn.3
Obsolete. rare.
(See quot. 1662 and snouting n.2)
ΚΠ
1662 Irish Statutes (1678) 628 Snouting, alias snayl, or drest towe, the twelve pound, 0. 5s. 0.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
snailv.
/sneɪl/, U.S. /sneɪl/ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > form or reform [verb (intransitive)] > other formations
snail1548
zariba1885
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. ccxxxvv All the gonnes seuered them selues into one place, & likewise the byllmen, & there rynged & snayled, which was a goodly syght to beholde.
2.
a. To move, walk, or travel lazily or sluggishly; to go very slowly. Also with on.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > move or go slowly [verb (intransitive)]
creepc1175
lugc1400
to hold (also keep) foot withc1438
crawlc1460
lounge?a1513
slug1565
drawl1566
draggle1577
fodge1581
snail1582
laggerc1620
slagger1622
snail1628
flod1674
delay1690
to drag one’s slow length along1711
soss1711
loiter1728
trail1744
sidle1781
soodle1821
linger1826
ooze1847
slope1851
laggard1864
dawdle1872
tiddle1882
oozle1958
pootle1973
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iv. 83 Shee trots on snayling, lyk a tooth shaken old hagge.
1751 S. Richardson Clarissa (ed. 3) IV. xxii. 114 Draw in our horns, and resolve to snail-on..in a track we are acquainted with.
1813 R. Wilson Private Diary (1861) II. 238 The Crown Prince is snailing towards the Elbe.
1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy xviii. 275 The herd was snailing along the North Platte.
1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy xxiii. 365 We snailed on westward at our leisurely gait.
b. With it.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > move or go slowly [verb (intransitive)]
creepc1175
lugc1400
to hold (also keep) foot withc1438
crawlc1460
lounge?a1513
slug1565
drawl1566
draggle1577
fodge1581
snail1582
laggerc1620
slagger1622
snail1628
flod1674
delay1690
to drag one’s slow length along1711
soss1711
loiter1728
trail1744
sidle1781
soodle1821
linger1826
ooze1847
slope1851
laggard1864
dawdle1872
tiddle1882
oozle1958
pootle1973
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. xciv. sig. Bb You shall finde, that every thing, as farre as the Abilitie will giue it Line, does Snaile it after Deitie.
1661 O. Felltham Resolves (rev. ed.) 269 When the grave Vespasian came to snail it, and be leaver'd in the throngs slow march.
1893 W. C. A. Blew Brighton 48 From Clayton Hill the coach snailed it on towards Cuckfield.
c. To make (one's way) very slowly.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [verb (intransitive)] > slowly
loiter1789
humbug1840
snail1936
the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > make (its way) slowly [verb (transitive)]
snail1936
1936 M. Franklin All that Swagger v. 56 Two bullock drays were snailing their way from the Port.
3.
a. transitive. To make or construct after the spiral form of a snail-shell. Now spec. in clockmaking.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (transitive)] > make spiral or helical
snail1605
convert1782
to screw up1827
corkscrew1837
spiralize1851
turbana1861
spiral1876
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. vi. 212 God place't the Eares..As in two Turrets, on the buildings top, Snailing their hollow entries so a-sloape [etc.].
1885 D. Glasgow Watch & Clock Making vi. 73 The arbor should be snailed, so that when the spring is wound on to it, it will take a spiral form.
b. To finish off with curved eccentric lines.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > pattern or design > pattern [verb (transitive)] > curves or spirals
wave1547
snail1881
snake1887
1881 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockmakers' Handbk. (ed. 4) 128 Fusee caps, steel keyless wheels, &c., are snailed with a copper mill.
4. To clear of, keep free from, slugs or snails.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > cultivate plants or crops [verb (transitive)] > rid of worms or snails
worm1624
snaila1661
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Glouc. 349 Many got great [tobacco] estates thereby, notwithstanding the great..cost in..watering, snailing, suckering..and rowling it.
Derivatives
ˈsnailing n. (see 3b); also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > making or regulating > process of finishing
snailing1881
1881 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockmakers' Handbk. (ed. 4) 129 Snailing requires a sharp polishing material.
1881 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockmakers' Handbk. (ed. 4) 129 The snailing mill is fixed in nearly the right position.
1885 D. Glasgow Watch & Clock Making ix. 119 The snailing roller [is] held in the fingers and prevented from turning.
1891 J. Tripplin & E. Rigg Saunier'sWatchmaker's Handbk. (ed. 3) 119 A beautiful snailing can be obtained with Arkansas stone mud.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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