snell

Meanings

1. Quick, smart; sharp, active, brisk or nimble; lively.
2. Quick-witted; clever.
3. Harsh, severe, or stinging.

1. Alternative form of snelly.

1. A short line of horsehair, gut, monofilament, etc., by which a fishhook or lure is attached to a longer (and usually heavier) line.

1. To tie a hook to the end of a fishing line with a snell knot.

1. A surname.
2. An unincorporated community in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, United States.
3. An unincorporated community in Harrison, Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English snell (“quick, fast”) from Old English snell, snel (“lively, quick”) from Proto-West Germanic *snell, from Proto-Germanic *snellaz (“active, swift, brisk”). Akin to Dutch snel (“fast, quick”), German Low German snell (“quick”), German schnell (“quick, swift”), Yiddish שנעל (shnel, “quick, swift”), Italian snello (“quick, nimble”), Old French esnel, isnel (“snell”), and Occitan isnel, irnel (“snell”)), Old Norse snjallr (“skilful, excellent”) (whence Danish snild (“clever”)).