snuggle

Etymology

It is formed from English snug + -le, a frequentative of the verb,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} which the Shorter Oxford and Hoad take from the adjective snug.^[8][9] The verb snug, to nestle or lie close, is recorded from 1583 and is of obscure origin, later associated with the adjective,^[3][7][2] which was first a sailors' word meaning trim or compact and is perhaps of Scandinavian or Low German origin.^[7][3][9][2] The Shorter Oxford compares smuggle.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

To lie close or snug, for warmth or comfort: 1687, in Miège's French dictionary.^[3][4] The OED dates the same record to 1688.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The verb was first used of people, especially children, settling down cosily or pressing close to someone.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "to lie close; to lie warm".^[10] A transitive use, to hug or cuddle someone, appears in Ash's dictionary of 1775,^[2] and in the 19th century the verb was extended to nestling close to a person or thing (1845), to the phrases snuggle up and snuggle down (1840) and to buildings lying in a sheltered spot (1862).^[2] The noun, an act of snuggling, is recorded from 1901.^[2][7] The English Dialect Dictionary found the verb, meaning to lie close together or cuddle, from Scotland and Ireland to Devon and Cornwall.^[11]

Timeline

• 1687 – to lie close for warmth or comfort.^[3][4]
• 1775 – transitive, to hug or cuddle someone.^[2]
• 1840 – snuggle up, snuggle down.^[2]
• 1845 – to nestle close to a person or thing.^[2]
• 1862 – of buildings, to lie in a sheltered spot.^[2]
• 1867 – to wrap someone up warmly.^[2]
• 1901 – noun, an act of snuggling.^[2][7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To settle into a warm, comfortable position, or press close to someone for warmth or affection; to nestle or cuddle; often with up or down: The puppies snuggled up against their mother.^[4][6][2]
2. Of a building or place, to lie in a sheltered position.^[2][4]
3. To hold someone close and affectionately; to hug.^[2]
4. To wrap someone up warmly.^[2]

Noun

1. An act of snuggling.^[4][6][2]

Related words

• snug

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 p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)