snipe - 6 dictionary results
snipe
[snahyp] 
noun, plural snipes, (especially collectively
) snipe for 1, 2; verb sniped, snip⋅ing.–noun
| 1. | any of several long-billed game birds of the genera Gallinago (Capella) and Limnocryptes, inhabiting marshy areas, as G. gallinago (common snipe), of Eurasia and North America, having barred and striped white, brown, and black plumage. |
| 2. | any of several other long-billed birds, as some sandpipers. |
| 3. | a shot, usually from a hidden position. |
–verb (used without object)
| 4. | to shoot or hunt snipe. |
| 5. | to shoot at individuals as opportunity offers from a concealed or distant position: The enemy was sniping from the roofs. |
| 6. | to attack a person or a person's work with petulant or snide criticism, esp. anonymously or from a safe distance. |
Origin:
1275–1325; ME snype (n.) < ON -snīpa (in mȳrisnīpa moor snipe); c. Norw snipa, Icel snīpa; cf. Dan sneppe, G Schnepfe
1275–1325; ME snype (n.) < ON -snīpa (in mȳrisnīpa moor snipe); c. Norw snipa, Icel snīpa; cf. Dan sneppe, G Schnepfe
Related forms:
snipelike, adjective
sniper, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To snipe
| snipe (snīp) n.
[Middle English, probably from Old Norse -snīpa (as in mȳrisnīpa, marsh snipe).] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Snipe
Snipe\, v. t. 1. To shoot at (detached men of an enemy's force) at long range, esp. when not in action. 2. To nose (a log) to make it drag or slip easily in skidding.Snipe
Snipe\, n. [OE. snipe; akin to D. snep, snip, LG. sneppe, snippe, G. schnepfe, Icel. sn[=i]pa (in comp.), Dan. sneppe, Sw. sn["a]ppa a sanpiper, and possibly to E. snap. See Snap, Snaffle.]1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of limicoline game birds of the family Scolopacid[ae], having a long, slender, nearly straight beak. Note: The common, or whole, snipe (Gallinago c[oe]lestis) and the great, or double, snipe (G. major), are the most important European species. The Wilson's snipe (G. delicata) (sometimes erroneously called English snipe) and the gray snipe, or dowitcher (Macrohamphus griseus), are well-known American species. 2. A fool; a blockhead. [R.] --Shak. Half snipe, the dunlin; the jacksnipe. Jack snipe. See Jacksnipe. Quail snipe. See under Quail. Robin snipe, the knot. Sea snipe. See in the Vocabulary. Shore snipe, any sandpiper. Snipe hawk, the marsh harrier. [Prov. Eng.] Stone snipe, the tattler. Summer snipe, the dunlin; the green and the common European sandpipers. Winter snipe. See Rock snipe, under Rock. Woodcock snipe, the great snipe.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : snipe
Spanish:
disparar (desde un escondite)disparar (desde un escondite),
German:
aus dem Hinterhalt schießen,
Japanese:
そ撃する
snipe (n.)
long-billed marsh bird, c.1325, from O.N. -snipa in myrisnipa "moor snipe;" perhaps a common Gmc. term (cf. O.S. sneppa, M.Du. snippe, Du. snip, O.H.G. snepfa, Ger. Schnepfe "snipe"). The O.E. name was snite, which is of uncertain derivation. An opprobrious term (cf. guttersnipe) since 1604. The verb meaning "to shoot from a hidden place" is first attested 1773 (among British soldiers in India), in allusion to hunting snipe as game; sniper first attested 1824 in the sense of "sharpshooter."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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