Etymology

snithe

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Today it means: To cut; to make an incision; to cut off; to lance or amputate; to cut up; to cut so as to kill; to slay an animal; to hew; to cut stone; to cut hair; to cut corn; to reap; to mow. Full definition →

First used 17th centuryMiddle English snithen ← Old English snīþan ← Proto-West Germanic *snīþan
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snithe · verb, adjective1

  1. Middle English · inherited fromsnithe“cutting, sharp”
  2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sneyt-“to cut”
  3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*snīþaną“to cut”
  4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*snīþan
  5. Old English · inherited fromsnīþan“to cut, make an incision, cut off, lance or amputate, cut up or to pieces, cut so as to kill, slay an animal, hew down, cut stone, hew, cut hair, cut corn, reap, mow”
  6. Middle English · inherited fromsnithen
  7. English todaysnithe

Verb from Middle English snithen, from Old English snīþan (“to cut, make an incision, cut off, lance or amputate, cut up or to pieces, cut so as to kill, slay an animal, hew down, cut stone, hew, cut hair, cut corn, reap, mow”), from Proto-West Germanic *snīþan, from Proto-Germanic *snīþaną (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *sneyt- (“to cut”). Noun from Middle English snithe (“cutting, sharp”), from snithen (“to cut”), see above. Cognate with Saterland Frisian sniede (“to cut”), West Frisian snije (“to cut”), Dutch snijden (“to cut, carve, intersect”), Low German snieden (“to cut”), German schneiden (“to cut, trim, slice”), Swedish snida (“to carve, engrave”), Icelandic sníða (“to trim, tailor”). Related to snide.

snithe · verb2

Variation of sny.

First known use, by meaning

  • 17th century Obsolete spelling of sny (“abound, swarm, teem, be infested”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.