snob
English edit
Etymology edit
Late 18th century dialectal English snob (“cobbler”), of unknown origin. Early senses of the word carried the meaning of "lower status;" it was then used to describe those seeking to imitate those of higher wealth or status. Folk etymology derives it from the Latin phrase sine nobilitate (“without nobility”), but early uses had no connection to this.[1][2]
The modern sense was popularized by William Makepeace Thackeray in The Book of Snobs (1848).[3]
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: snŏb, IPA(key): /snɒb/
- (General American) enPR: snŏb, IPA(key): /snɑb/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - Rhymes: -ɒb
Noun edit
snob (plural snobs)
- (informal, derogatory) A person who wishes to be seen as a member of the upper classes and who looks down on those perceived to have inferior or unrefined tastes. [from 20th c.]
- 1920, F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Four Fists”, in Flappers and Philosophers:
- Outside of his own set he was considered rather a snob, but as his set was the set, it never worried him.
- 1958, Arnold Wesker, Roots:
- If wanting the best things in life means being a snob then glory hallelujah I'm a snob.
- (colloquial) A cobbler or shoemaker. [from 18th c.]
- 1929, Frederic Manning, The Middle Parts of Fortune, Vintage, published 2014, page 57:
- The snobs were also kind to him, and gave him a pair of boots which they assured him were of a type and quality reserved entirely for officers […]
- (dated) A member of the lower classes; a commoner. [from 19th c.]
- 1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, →OCLC:
- 'D'ye know a slap-up sort of button, when you see it?' said the youth. 'Don't look at mine, if you ain't a judge, because these lions' heads was made for men of taste: not snobs.'
- 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 31, in The History of Pendennis. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
- I like better gin-and-water than claret. I like a sanded floor in Carnaby Market better than a chalked one in Mayfair. I prefer Snobs, I own it.
- 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
- I tell you, sir, that I have a brain of my own, and that I should feel myself to be a snob and a slave if I did not use it.
- (archaic) A workman who works for lower wages than his fellows, especially one who will not join a strike (a scab).
- (Cambridge University) A townsman, as opposed to a gownsman.
- Synonym: cad
Coordinate terms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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See also edit
- hobnob (verb) (a social climber element has often existed with both terms' senses)
References edit
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
- ^ “snob”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
- ^ Anatoly Liberman (2008 May 14) “Snob Before and After Thackeray”, in OUPblog
Further reading edit
- snob on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- “snob”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- “snob”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
Anagrams edit
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
snob m (plural snobs, diminutive snobje n)
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
snob (plural snobs)
- snobbish, snobby
- 1954, “J’suis snob”, performed by Boris Vian:
- J’suis snob… J’suis snob / C’est vraiment l’seul défaut que j’gobe
- I'm a snob… I'm a snob / It's really the only fault I can stomach having
Descendants edit
Noun edit
snob m or f by sense (plural snobs)
- snob
- C’est un snob.
- He's a snob.
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “snob”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams edit
Italian edit
Etymology edit
Unadapted borrowing from English snob.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
snob m (invariable)
Adjective edit
snob (invariable)
References edit
- ^ snob in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
Polish edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
snob m pers (female equivalent snobka)
- snob (person who seeks to be a member of the upper classes)
Declension edit
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
Portuguese edit
Noun edit
snob m or f by sense (plural snobs)
- Alternative form of snobe
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Adjective edit
snob m or n (feminine singular snobă, masculine plural snobi, feminine and neuter plural snobe)
Declension edit
Serbo-Croatian edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
snȍb m (Cyrillic spelling сно̏б)
Declension edit
Slovak edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
snob m anim (genitive singular snoba, nominative plural snobi, genitive plural snobov, declension pattern of chlap)
Declension edit
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “snob”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024