sniper

Etymology

It is formed from English snipe + -er,^[2][3][4] from the verb meaning to shoot at people one at a time from cover, recorded from 1782 in the OED, but from 1773, among British soldiers in India, in Etymonline.^[2][4] The verb comes from the noun, the bird, which was a hard target and a test of a shooter's skill.^[4] The bird's name is of Scandinavian origin according to Merriam-Webster, and of doubtful origin according to the OED, which compares Icelandic mýrisnípa, Dutch snip and German Schnepfe.^[5][2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who shoots from concealment; a sharpshooter: 1824, in the East India Military Calendar.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline quotes a sporting calendar of 1818 on snipe shooting as a good trial of a gunner's skill, the background of the military word.^[4] Other uses followed from other senses of snipe: a snipe-shooter (1840),^[2] in the United States a prospector for gold (1902), one who works abandoned claims,^[2][5] and in logging a worker who cuts a bevel on a log (1905).^[2][5] In Australian slang a sniper was a non-union worker, from 1937 in Green's Dictionary of Slang, which explains that he "shoots down" available work.^[6][3] In American slang it was also one who picks up cigar ends from the gutter (1921) and, around 2000, one who puts up illegal posters.^[6]

Timeline

• 1824 – one who shoots from concealment, a sharpshooter.^[2][4]
• 1840 – a snipe-shooter.^[2]
• 1902 – US, a prospector for gold.^[2]
• 1905 – logging, one who cuts a bevel on a log.^[2]
• 1921 – US slang, one who picks up cigar ends.^[6]
• 1937 – Australian slang, a non-union worker.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A marksman, especially a soldier, who shoots at individual people from a hidden position, often at long range: A sniper covered the road from the church tower.
2. (US) A prospector who works abandoned claims.
3. (logging) A worker who bevels the ends of logs so they can be dragged.
4. (Australian slang) A non-union worker.

Word family

• countersniper
• sniperscope

Related words

• snipe
• guttersnipe

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com