snicker
English
editPronunciation
edit- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈsnɪk.ə(ɹ)/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈsnɪkɚ/
Audio (General Australian): (file) - Rhymes: -ɪkə(ɹ)
Etymology 1
editUS variant of the British snigger, possibly of onomatopoeic origin, similar to Dutch snikken (“to gasp; sob”). The noun is first recorded 1836, from the verb. Compare also Scottish smicker (“to smile or laugh in a sniggering or leery way, smirk”). More at smicker.
Alternative forms
editNoun
editsnicker (plural snickers)
Derived terms
editTranslations
editstifled laugh
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Verb
editsnicker (third-person singular simple present snickers, present participle snickering, simple past and past participle snickered)
- (intransitive) To emit a snicker, a stifled or broken laugh.
- 1915 June, T[homas] S[tearns] Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, in Prufrock and Other Observations, London: The Egotist […], published 1917, →OCLC, page 13:
- I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, / And in short, I was afraid.
- (transitive) To utter through a laugh of this kind.
- (of a horse) To whinny.
Synonyms
edit- See also Thesaurus:laugh
Translations
editto emit a snicker
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Etymology 2
editNoun
editsnicker (plural snickers)
See also
editAnagrams
editCategories:
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪkə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/ɪkə(ɹ)/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- English transitive verbs
- English terms suffixed with -er
- en:Cricket
- English terms with rare senses
- en:Animal sounds
- en:Laughter