Meanings
nounland snail (plural land snails)
plural land snails · alternative land-snail · alternative landsnail
- Any species of snail that lives on land (Caenogastropoda spp. etc.).
The land-snail Achatinella evolved a thousand or more species.
2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 34
Origin
- Middle Englishlond snayl
- Englishland snail
Inherited from Middle English lond snayl (attested in the plural londe snayles), equivalent to land + snail. Compare water snail, sea snail, etc.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek σέσιλος
- σέσιλος (sésilos)species of snail that lives on land
Chinese Cantonese 蝸牛 /蜗牛
- 蝸牛 /蜗牛 (wo¹ ngau⁴)species of snail that lives on land
Chinese Mandarin 陸生蝸牛 /陆生蜗牛, 蝸牛 /蜗牛
- 陸生蝸牛 /陆生蜗牛 (lùshēng wōniú)species of snail that lives on land
- 蝸牛 /蜗牛 (wōniú)species of snail that lives on land
Finnish maaetana
- maaetanaspecies of snail that lives on land
German Landschnecke
- Landschneckespecies of snail that lives on land
Hungarian szárazföldi csiga
- szárazföldi csigaspecies of snail that lives on land
Polish ślimak lądowy
- ślimak lądowyspecies of snail that lives on land
Vietnamese ốc sên
- ốc sênspecies of snail that lives on land
Cite this entry
APA
land snail. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/land%20snail
MLA
“land snail.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/land%20snail. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “land snail,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/land%20snail.
Source: land snail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.