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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

snell.

Quick, smart; sharp, active, brisk or nimble; lively.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/snɛl/

  1. Quick, smart; sharp, active, brisk or nimble; lively.

    Scotland

  2. Quick-witted; clever.

    Scotland

  3. Harsh, severe, or stinging.

    Scotland
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English snell (“quick, fast”) from Old English snell, snel (“lively, quick”) from Proto-West Germanic *snell, from Proto-Germanic *snellaz (“active, swift, brisk”). Akin to Dutch snel (“fast, quick”), German Low German snell (“quick”), German schnell (“quick, swift”), Yiddish שנעל (shnel, “quick, swift”), Italian snello (“quick, nimble”), Old French esnel, isnel (“snell”), and Occitan isnel, irnel (“snell”)), Old Norse snjallr (“skilful, excellent”) (whence Danish snild (“clever”)).

noun/snɛl/

  1. A short line of horsehair, gut, monofilament, etc., by which a fishhook or lure is attached to a longer (and usually heavier) line.

    Scotland
Where this word comes from

Unknown

verb/snɛl/

  1. To tie a hook to the end of a fishing line with a snell knot.

    Scotland
    Can you show me how to snell a hook?
Where this word comes from

Unknown

adv/snɛl/

  1. Alternative form of snelly.

    Scotland · alt-of · alternative
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English snell (“quick, fast”) from Old English snell, snel (“lively, quick”) from Proto-West Germanic *snell, from Proto-Germanic *snellaz (“active, swift, brisk”). Akin to Dutch snel (“fast, quick”), German Low German snell (“quick”), German schnell (“quick, swift”), Yiddish שנעל (shnel, “quick, swift”), Italian snello (“quick, nimble”), Old French esnel, isnel (“snell”), and Occitan isnel, irnel (“snell”)), Old Norse snjallr (“skilful, excellent”) (whence Danish snild (“clever”)).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.