Etymologically
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sneaky

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is formed from English sneak + -y.[2][3][4][5] The OED and the Shorter Oxford take the base to be the noun, a sneaking person, while Etymonline takes it to be the verb.[2][3][4] The verb, recorded from the 1550s, is of doubtful origin: Etymonline and Hoad connect it with Middle English sniken (“to creep, crawl”), from Old English snīcan (“to creep, crawl”), and with Old Norse sníkja,[4][6] but the OED notes that the form does not match and that the gap in the record is very long.[2] Etymonline relates the Old English verb to snail and snake.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a person, like a sneak; mean, paltry, sneaking: 1834.[2][3] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date it to 1833,[4][7] and Dictionary.com to 1825–35.[5]

Semantic evolution

From 1861 it was also used of actions, "characterized by sneaking",[2] and Merriam-Webster's sense of stealth, furtiveness or shiftiness covers both people and tricks.[7] In 1949 sneaky Pete appeared in American slang as a name for cheap or illicit liquor,[2][4] and in 1974 sneaky became a noun for a small hidden microphone or other surveillance device, in Miles Copeland's Real Spy World.[2][3]

Timeline

  • 1833 – first record, by Etymonline's and Merriam-Webster's dating.[4][7]
  • 1834 – of a person, like a sneak; mean.[2]
  • 1861 – characterized by sneaking.[2]
  • 1949 – sneaky Pete, cheap or illicit liquor.[2][4]
  • 1974 – noun, a concealed microphone or surveillance device.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Acting or done secretly and dishonestly; stealthy, furtive or shifty: a sneaky way to skip the queue.[7][2]
  2. Of a person, like a sneak; mean and underhand.[2][3]

Noun

  1. A small hidden microphone or other device for surveillance.[2][3]
  2. sneaky Pete (slang, originally US): cheap or illicit liquor.[2][4]

Word family

  • sneakily
  • sneakiness
  • sneaky Pete

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster