English Explanatory Dictionary

snail

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any of very many animals (either hermaphroditic or nonhermaphroditic), of the class Gastropoda, having a coiled shell.
  2. A slow person; a sluggard.
  3. A spiral cam, or a flat piece of metal of spirally curved outline, used for giving motion to, or changing the position of, another part, as the hammer tail of a striking clock.
  4. A tortoise or testudo; a movable roof or shed to protect besiegers.
  5. The pod of the snail clover.
  6. A locomotive with a prime mover but no traction motors, used to provide extra electrical power to another locomotive.
verb
  1. To move or travel very slowly.

Pronunciation

snāl /sneɪl/ [sn̥eɪ̯ɫ] en-us-snail.ogg

Word forms

snail snails snailing snailed

Etymology

From Middle English snayl, snail, from the Old English sneġel, from Proto-Germanic *snagilaz. Cognate with Low German Snagel, Snâel, Snâl (“snail”), German Schnegel (“slug”). Compare also Old Norse snigill, from Proto-Germanic *snigilaz.

Synonyms

dodman hodmandod

Related words

heliciculture slug

Derived words

achatine snail African snail agate snail amber snail ambersnail apple snail Australian snail awl snail Badwater snail bonnet snail boulder snail bristle snail brown-lipped snail brown snail bubble snail Burgundy snail carrier snail Chinese hat snail cinnamon snail cone snail decollate snail dew snail domed land snail door snail ear snail edible snail emerald green snail Finger Snail flying snail garden snail giant snail glass snail green snail grove snail harp snail helmet snail housesnail Japanese snail land snail Lister's river snail looping snail microsnail milk snail moon snail Moorean viviparous tree snail mudsnail mud snail murex snail mystery snail Newcomb's snail olive snail palm-leaf snail pebblesnail Polynesian tree snail pond snail purple storm snail rack and snail ramshorn snail river snail rocksnail
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