*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of snead

Verb from Middle English *sneden, *snæden (found in tosnæden), from Old English snǣdan (“to cut; feed”), from Proto-Germanic *snaidijaną, related to Middle High German sneiten, Icelandic sneiða, English snithe (“to cut”)

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
verb

To cut; lop; prune.

noun

A piece; bit; slice. · A snath.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Verb from Middle English *sneden, *snæden (found in tosnæden), from Old English snǣdan (“to cut; feed”), from Proto-Germanic *snaidijaną, related to Middle High German sneiten, Icelandic sneiða, English snithe (“to cut”). More at snithe. Noun from Middle English snade, snede, from Old English snǣd (“piece, bit, slice; shaft, handle”), related to Icelandic sneið.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "*sneden"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English *sneden"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "snǣdan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to cut; feed"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English snǣdan (“to cut; feed”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*snaidijaną"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *snaidijaną"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "snade"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English snade"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "snǣd",
        "4": "",
        "5": "piece, bit, slice; shaft, handle"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English snǣd (“piece, bit, slice; shaft, handle”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*sneden",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/sneden"
    ],
    [
      "*snæden",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/snæden"
    ],
    [
      "tosnæden",
      "tosnæden#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "snǣdan",
      "snædan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*snaidijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/snaidijaną"
    ],
    [
      "sneiten",
      "sneiten#Middle_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "sneiða",
      "sneiða#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "snithe",
      "snithe#English"
    ],
    [
      "snithe",
      "snithe#English"
    ],
    [
      "snade",
      "snade#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "snede",
      "snede#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "snǣd",
      "snæd#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "sneið",
      "sneið#Icelandic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To cut; lop; prune."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "ce600f531106a3c3de41955c35b080a98966da7742cbec80c94c0242f8aa8f32",
      "rawRecordSha256": "794bbe428d6982b66d210d6387595eff0603ea2cc6c627386a14eeaa0d501d26",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4276814
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A piece; bit; slice.",
        "A snath."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ],
      "recordId": "f032d15c6d654374742fee38978996676d3c232eed31e760f9e703a79df48047",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7d59bdacf69fcff71f1d67ac176b0fd7fefc55914720918343c8a61ed4b544fa",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4276815
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for snead →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c25lYWQ