snail king

noun

A snail possessing a sinistral shell, from a species in which dextral shells are the norm.

OriginGerman Schneckenkönig →
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Meanings

nounsnail king (plural snail kings)

plural snail kings

  1. rareA snail possessing a sinistral shell, from a species in which dextral shells are the norm.

    In German-speaking countries, there is a legend that a left-handed snail specimen is a “snail king” — Schneckenkönig.

    2016, Øyvind Hammer, The Perfect Shape: Spiral Stories, page 30
    1 more example

    Virtually, almost all snail shells wind in the clockwise direction (mathematically negative) when viewed from above. This is not the case with the "snail king".

    2017, Georg Glaeser, Math Tools: 500+ Applications in Science and Arts, page 330

Origin

  1. GermanSchneckenkönig“snail king”
  2. Englishsnail king

Calque of German Schneckenkönig (“snail king”)

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

snail king. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snail%20king

MLA

“snail king.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snail%20king. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “snail king,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snail%20king.

Source: snail king on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.