*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of snib

To the same root as snub. For the sense reprimant, compare cognate Old Norse sneypa (“to rebuff, infringe, etc”). The etymology appears visible in Nordic cognates, to an original sense of “pinching off” (→ “to repress, i

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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 ↗
noun

A latch or fastening for a door, window etc. · A reprimand; a snub.

verb

To latch (a door, window, etc.). · to rebuke, to scold, to reprimand

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

To the same root as snub. For the sense reprimant, compare cognate Old Norse sneypa (“to rebuff, infringe, etc”). The etymology appears visible in Nordic cognates, to an original sense of “pinching off” (→ “to repress, infringe”), really “snipping off” (Old Norse sneypa, Norwegian Nynorsk snøypa, Swedish snöpa, snoppa, snipa, snippa (“to pinch off, to squeeze off, to castrate”)), with nouns denoting “pinched end → point” (cf. Swedish snip (“snout, spout”), snibb (“lobe”)). The latch sense could stem from older latches which were lobe-shaped, then analog to Swedish snibb (“lobe”). Another idea could be that the 'latch action' derives from the action of “pinching off” becoming “closing off”. A third idea could be that it derives from reprimanding through “locking” a door. The term may also have been affected by words like snap via the “snapping” action of a latch.

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": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "sneypa",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to rebuff, infringe, etc"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse sneypa (“to rebuff, infringe, etc”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "sneypa"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse sneypa"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "snøypa"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk snøypa"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "snöpa"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish snöpa"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "snip",
        "3": "",
        "4": "snout, spout"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish snip (“snout, spout”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "snibb",
        "3": "",
        "4": "lobe"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish snibb (“lobe”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "snub",
      "snub#English"
    ],
    [
      "sneypa",
      "sneypa#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "sneypa",
      "sneypa#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "snøypa",
      "snøypa#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "snöpa",
      "snöpa#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "snoppa",
      "snoppa#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "snipa",
      "snipa#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "snippa",
      "snippa#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "snip",
      "snip#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "snibb",
      "snibb#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "snibb",
      "snibb#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "snap",
      "snap#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A latch or fastening for a door, window etc.",
        "A reprimand; a snub."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "Scotland",
        "obsolete"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 2217329
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To latch (a door, window, etc.).",
        "to rebuke, to scold, to reprimand"
      ],
      "tags": [
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        "Scotland",
        "transitive",
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      ],
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

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 snib →

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-c25pYg