snipe
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
The verb "to snipe" originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India where a hunter skilled enough to kill the elusive snipe was dubbed a "sniper".[1] The term sniper was first attested in 1824 in the sense of the word "sharpshooter".[1]
[edit] Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -aɪp
[edit] Noun
snipe (plural snipe or snipes)
- Any of various limicoline game birds of the genera Gallinago, Lymnocryptes and Coenocorypha in the family Scolopacidae, having a long, slender, nearly straight beak.
- A fool; a blockhead.
- A shot fired from a concealed place.
- (slang) A cigarette butt.
- (naval slang) A member of the engineering department on a ship.
- A bottle of wine measuring 0.1875 liters, one fourth the volume of a standard bottle; a quarter bottle or piccolo.
- An animated promotional logo during a television show.
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
bird of the family Scolopacidae
shot from a concealed place
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naval slang: member of the Engineering Department
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small wine bottle
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animated promotional logo during a television show
[edit] See also
[edit] Verb
snipe (third-person singular simple present snipes, present participle sniping, simple past and past participle sniped)
- To shoot at individuals from a concealed place.
- To make malicious, underhand remarks or attacks.
- To watch a timed online auction and place a winning bid at the last possible moment.
