snam

English

Etymology

Blend of snap +‎ nam (“to seize, grab; chew, eat greedily”).

Verb

snam (third-person singular simple present snams, present participle snamming, simple past and past participle snammed)

1. (transitive, Scotland) To snatch with the jaws; snap at something greedily.
2. (transitive, UK, slang, obsolete) To steal; snatch.
   • 1859, Snowden's Magistrates Assistant, page 497:

     He has been lagged for beaker hunting, was a mushroom faker, has been on the steel for snamming a wedge sneezer; […]

3. (transitive, UK, slang, obsolete) To rob (a person).
   • 1880, Henry Spicer, Winged Words, page 144:

     I on'y meant fur to snam (rob) him, and on'y giv' him a tightener, when somethin' come dancing and shreeking down the road, and I vamoosed.

Related terms

• nim
• nimble
• nom

References

• John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary

Pnar

Etymology

From Proto-Khasian *snaːm, from Proto-Mon-Khmer. Cognate with Khasi snam, Blang ná̤m, Khmu [Cuang] maːm, Bahnar pham, Pacoh aham, Khmer ឈាម (chiəm), Car Nicobarese mahām and Mang haːm¹.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /snam/

Noun

snam

1. blood