Etymology

snack

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Today it means: A light meal. Full definition →

Middle Dutch snacken ← Proto-Germanic *snakkōną
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snack · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*snakkōną“to smack one's lips, open one's mouth to eat; to snatch (with one's mouth?), snack on”
  2. Middle Dutch · borrowed fromsnacken“to snack”
  3. English todaysnack

From Middle Dutch snacken (“to snack”), possibly from Proto-Germanic *snakkōną (“to smack one's lips, open one's mouth to eat; to snatch (with one's mouth?), snack on”), whence also etymology 2; ultimately onomatopoeic. Cognate with German schnäken (“to snack”). More at Proto-Germanic *snak-.

snack · noun, verb2

See snatch (transitive verb). Ultimately of the same origin as the word under Etymology 1, but perhaps through a different source.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.