snekke

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/snɛkə/

noun

A Viking fighting vessel smaller than a longship

OriginDanish snekke ← Old Norse snekkja ← Proto-Germanic *snakkǭ →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounsnekke (plural snekkes)

plural snekkes · alternative snekr · alternative snekkja

  1. A Viking fighting vessel smaller than a longship

    Snekke […] Small warship for Danish waters ca. 1030.

    2014, “Vikings in the Gulf: Fact or Fancy?”, in Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, volume 44, pages 325-36
    1 more example

    They were excellent, new snekrs, nearly eighty feet long each; with double banks for twelve oars a side in the waist, which was open, save a fighting gangway along the sides; with high poop and forecastle decks; and with one large sail apiece.

    1866, Charles Kingsley, chapter 6, in Hereward the Wake, London: Nelson, page 125

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*snakkǭ
  2. Old Norsesnekkja
  3. Danishsnekke
  4. Englishsnekke

From Danish snekke, from Old Norse snekkja, probably from Proto-Germanic *snakkǭ, *snakkaz, related to Old English snacc (“swift sailing vessel”).

More words from Danish, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“snekke.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snekke. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “snekke,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snekke.

Source: snekke on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.