Etymology

snatch

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Today it means: To grasp and remove quickly. Full definition →

First used 18th c.Middle English snacchen ← Old English *snæċċan ← Proto-West Germanic *snakkjan
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*snakjaną“to whiff, sniff, catch wind of; to taste-test, nibble”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*snakkjan
  3. Old English · inherited from*snæċċan
  4. Middle English · inherited fromsnacchen
  5. English todaysnatch

From Middle English snacchen, snecchen (“to snap; seize”), from Old English *snæċċan, *sneċċan, from Proto-West Germanic *snakkjan, from Proto-Germanic *snakjaną (“to whiff, sniff, catch wind of; to taste-test, nibble”), related to Proto-Germanic *snakōną (“to breathe, blow, sigh”) and *snakkōną (“to blather, jabber, chatter”). Cognate with Middle Dutch snacken (“to snap [of a dog]”), Norwegian Nynorsk snaka (“to snatch [of animals]”). Related also to Dutch snakken (“to sob, pant, long for”), Low German snacken (“to chatter”), German schnacken (“to chat”), Danish snakke (“to chat”) and Norwegian snakke (“to chat”). Related to snack.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 18th c. The vulva.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.