Snápr

Old Norse Dictionary - snápr

Meaning of Old Norse word "snápr" in English.

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

snápr Old Norse word can mean:

snápr: m. [? vulgar Engl. snob; N. Lancashire snape], a dolt, with the notion of impostor or charlatan; in the ancient law a person who attacks an innocent man, e. g. who falsely boasts of having dishonoured a woman, was called snápr, and was to be punished as if really guilty, and his fine was called snáps-gjöld or ‘snob’s fine,’ þar sem heimskir menn ok snápar ráða upp á saklausa menn, N. G. l. i. 20; nú vænisk maðr því at …, gjaldi slíkan rétt, sem hann væri sannr at því máli, ok heiti maðr at verri, þat heita snáps-gjöld, Gþl. 204: in mod. Icel., when a priest or a married man breaks the seventh commandment, and to escape degradation and punishment hires another person to bear the blame, this latter is called snápr; hence it has become a by-word, a dummy, dolt, idiot; þessir menn munu vera snápar ok hafa ekki komit fyrr í önnur lönd, Fms. ii. 64; þér sofit sem snápar, Edda (gl.), Str. 71, Fas. ii. 225; skynlauss s., Stj. 473; at snápar snubbi þik, 423; viltir snápar, 418: an impostor, laga-snápr, a ‘whipper-snapper,’ pettifogger; orð-snápr, a ‘word-snob,’ babbler, Acts xvii. 18; sem margr snápr hefir svarat hér til, Gþl. 172.

snápr: II. the pointed end of a gimlet, pen, pencil, or the like, which may be the primitive sense of this word.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛋᚾᛅᛒᚱ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements

Abbreviations used:

e. g.: exempli gratia.

Engl.: English.

gl.: glossary.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

l.: line.

L.: Linnæus.

m.: masculine.

mod.: modern.

Works & Authors cited:

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Gþl.: Gulaþings-lög. (B. II.)

N. G. L.: Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)

Stj.: Stjórn. (F. I.)

Str.: Strengleikar. (G. II.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

Also available in related dictionaries:

This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages descending from Old Norse.