snip

Forms

snip f (plural snippen, diminutive snipje n)^[1] A by-form snep (Middle Dutch sneppe) is found in dialects and popular names.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch snippe (also sneppe), inherited from Proto-Germanic *snīpōn- ~ *snippōn-.^[2][5] The same word is Old Saxon sneppa, Old High German snepfo (modern German Schnepfe) and West Frisian snip, and with a long vowel Old English snīpe (modern English snipe) and Old Norse snípa.^[2][5][6] Kroonen explains the two vowel grades as an ablauting n-stem, nominative ⟨*snīpō⟩ beside genitive ⟨*snippaz⟩.^[5]

The bird is named after its long, pointed bill, as French bécasse “snipe” is from bec (“beak”).^[2][5][7] The word belongs to the group of words beginning with ⟨sn-⟩ for animals with a pointed head or beak, discussed under snavel, and is related to Middle Low German snippe (“point of a shoe”) and Danish snip (“tip, point”).^[2][6] De Vries rejects a comparison with Greek words for “to pinch” and “stingy”, since the ⟨sn-⟩ words are purely Germanic formations.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle Dutch snippe is first recorded in Holland in 1280, in a list of dues: eleven shillings in money and six snipes.^[8][2] A West Flemish text of 1287 says that the flesh of the sneppe is healthy because it is quickly digested.^[8][2]

Semantic evolution

The bird was hunted and eaten: a text of 1513 offers to kiss a hostess for no more than two roasted snipkens, and 17th-century cooks served een snipje met zijn drekje, a snipe with its entrails.^[9] Comparisons take their image from the snipe's erratic, zigzag flight: kijken als een poelsnip “to look crestfallen” (1615), dronken als een snip “very drunk” and zo verkouden als een snip (1861), from which comes snipverkouden “having a bad cold” (1917).^[2][9] A link with the muddy bill of the feeding bird is also possible.^[2]

From 28 July 1977 snip was the popular name of the hundred-guilder note, which showed a snipe and a great snipe.^[10][11] Dutch spread the bird's name to Papiamentu and Sranan Tongo (snepi), and Danish sneppe and Swedish snäppa come from Dutch or Low German.^[12][1]

Timeline

• 1280–1287 – Middle Dutch snippen are listed among dues paid in Holland.^[8][13]
• 1287 – A West Flemish text calls the flesh of the sneppe healthy.^[8][2]
• 1513 – Twee ghebraen snipkens “two roasted snipes” are mentioned.^[9]
• 1615 – Hy keeck als een Poelsnip “he looked like a great snipe” is recorded.^[2]
• 1861 – Zoo verkouden als eene poelsnip is recorded.^[2]
• 1917 – Snip-verkouden is first recorded.^[2]
• 1977 – The hundred-guilder note with a snipe on it comes into circulation, and is called a snip.^[10][11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A snipe or woodcock, a wading bird with a long, thin bill.^[14][15][1]
2. (informal, historical) A Dutch hundred-guilder banknote.^[14][15][1]

Word family

• houtsnip
• watersnip
• poelsnip
• snipverkouden

Usage notes

Two other nouns snip are recorded.^[9][6] A masculine snip “narrow notch, cut”, from the verb snippen, survives in the ear mark of sheep, een snip in 't oor.^[9][6] A regional North Holland snip (1741) is a boat with a pointed stem.^[9][13][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; Sijs, Nicoline van der (2003–2009), Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands, 4 vols., Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press; online via etymologiebank.nl
3. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
4. ^ Eigenhuis, K. J. (2004), Verklarend en etymologisch woordenboek van de Nederlandse vogelnamen, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press
5. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e f Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
8. ^ a b c d Pijnenburg, W. J. J., et al. (2001), Vroegmiddelnederlands woordenboek: woordenboek van het Nederlands van de dertiende eeuw in hoofdzaak op basis van het Corpus-Gysseling, Leiden: Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie; gtb.ivdnt.org
9. ^ a b c d e f Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
10. ^ a b Reinsma, R. (1984), Neologismen, Utrecht: Spectrum
11. ^ a b Coster, Marc de (1999), Woordenboek van neologismen: 25 jaar taalaanwinsten, Amsterdam: Contact
12. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
13. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
14. ^ a b Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
15. ^ a b Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org