snare

See also: Snare and SNARE

English

Etymology

From Middle English snare, from Old English snearu, sneare (“a string; cord”), from Proto-Germanic *snarhǭ (“a sling; loop; noose”). Cognate with Old Norse snara. Also related to German Schnur and Dutch snaar, snoer.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /snɛəɹ/, /snɛɹ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /snɛə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

Noun

snare (plural snares)

Bird caught in a snare

Drum fitted with snare wires

1. A trap (especially one made from a loop of wire, string, or leather).
   • 1943, Graham Greene, The Ministry of Fear‎^[1], London: Heinemann, published 1960, Book Three, Chapter One, pp. 196-197:

     He […] watched Beavis’s long-toothed mouth open and clap to like a rabbit snare.

   • 2013, Richard Flanagan, chapter 18, in The Narrow Road to the Deep North, New York: Knopf, published 2014, page 332:

     He felt a snare tightening around his throat; he gasped and threw a leg out of the bed, where it jerked for a second or two, thumping the steel frame, and died.

2. A mental or psychological trap.
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:

     If thou retire, the Dauphin, well appointed,
     Stands with the snares of war to tangle thee:

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 23:33:

     […] if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

   • 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], 3rd edition, London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], published 1719, →OCLC, page 193:

     […] and I had now liv’d two Years under these Uneasinesses, which indeed made my Life much less comfortable than it was before; as may well be imagin’d by any who know what it is to live in the constant Snare of the Fear of Man […]

   • 1864 August – 1866 January, [Elizabeth] Gaskell, Wives and Daughters. An Every-day Story. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1866, →OCLC:

     “ […] riches are a great snare.”

   • 1978, Jan Morris, Farewell the Trumpets: An Imperial Retreat‎^[2], New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Part One, Chapter 9, p. 173:

     They were devious war aims, and Allenby’s campaign was fought with a maximum of snare and subterfuge.

3. (veterinary) A loop of cord used in obstetric cases, to hold or to pull a fetus from the mother animal.
4. (surgery) A similar looped instrument formerly used to remove tumours etc.
5. (music) A set of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin of a drum to create a rattling sound.
6. (music) A snare drum.

Translations

trap

• Albanian: lak (sq) m
• Arabic: شَرَكٌ‎ m (šarakun), مِصْيَدَةٌ‎ f (miṣyadatun)

  Egyptian Arabic: فخ‎ m (faḵḵ)

• Armenian: թակարդ (hy) (tʿakard), ծուղակ (hy) (cuġak), որոգայթ (hy) (orogaytʿ)
• Aromanian: alats, alatsu
• Bashkir: тоҙаҡ (toðaq)
• Bulgarian: капан (bg) m (kapan), примка (bg) f (primka)
• Catalan: llaç (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 陷阱 (zh) (xiànjǐng), 圈套 (zh) (quāntào)

• Czech: oko (cs) n, léčka f, nástraha f
• Dutch: strop (nl),val (nl),klem (nl)
• Finnish: ansalanka (fi)
• French: collet (fr) m, piège (fr) m
• Galician: ichó m
• Georgian: ხაფანგი (xapangi)
• German: Schlinge (de) f, Falle (de) f
• Gothic: 𐍅𐍂𐌿𐌲𐌲𐍉 f (wruggō)
• Greek:

  Ancient: παγίς f (pagís), βρόχος m (brókhos)

• Hebrew: פַּח‎ (he) m (pakh)
• Hungarian: csapda (hu), kelepce (hu)
• Irish: dol, gaiste m, súil ribe f
• Italian: laccio (it) m, trappola (it) f, tagliola (it) f
• Japanese: 罠 (ja) (わな, wana)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: داو‎ (daw)

• Kyrgyz: тузак (ky) (tuzak)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: laqueus, transenna f, tenus n
• Lü: ᦟᦸᧄ (loam), ᦷᦢᧂᧉᦢᦱᧆ (ḃong²ḃaad)
• Malayalam: കെണി (ml) (keṇi)
• Maori: tāhei, rore, toromāhanga, taeke
• Middle English: snare
• Navajo: beeʼódleehí
• Occitan: trapèla f, laç (oc) m, sedon m, bagada f, tenda (oc) f, tendèla f
• Old English: grin m
• Persian: دام‎ (fa) (dâm), پهند‎ (fa) (pahand), لاتو‎ (fa) (lâtu)
• Polish: sidła n pl, pułapka (pl) fm, sidło (pl) n
• Portuguese: laço (pt) m
• Romanian: cursă (ro), laț (ro), capcană (ro) f
• Russian: сило́к (ru) m (silók), лову́шка (ru) f (lovúška), западня́ (ru) f (zapadnjá)
• Sardinian: latu, lantu, latzu, lassu
• Scottish Gaelic: ribe m
• Spanish: lazo (es) m
• Swedish: snara (sv)
• Tarifit: trašša f
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Walloon: bricole (wa) f, laesse m
• Welsh: magl f
• Western Bukidnon Manobo: litag

mental trap

• Bulgarian: уловка (bg) f (ulovka)
• Czech: mam m, klam (cs) m(in the phrase "mam a klam")
• Finnish: ansa (fi)
• Hungarian: csapda (hu), csapdahelyzet (hu)
• Italian: richiamo (it) m, insidia (it) f, trappola (it) f, tentazione (it) f
• Latin: fovea f
• Middle English: snare
• Occitan: trapèla f, tracanard (oc) m, trapa (oc) f
• Portuguese: armadilha (pt) f
• Russian: лову́шка (ru) f (lovúška), западня́ (ru) f (zapadnjá)
• Scottish Gaelic: ribe m
• Spanish: asechanza (es)

veterinary: obstetric loop

• Catalan: llaç obstètric m
• Hungarian: kacs (hu), polipkacs, fogó (hu)

music: set of chains strung across the bottom of a drum

• Finnish: virvelimatto
• Italian: laccio (it) m, armonico (it) m, timbro (it) m

music: type of drum

• Basque: kaxa
• Czech: virbl
• Finnish: pikkurumpu (fi), virvelirumpu (fi)
• French: caisse claire (fr) f
• Italian: rullante (it) m, tamburo (it) m
• Polish: werbel (pl) m
• Portuguese: caixa de guerra f, caixa (pt) f, tarol m, tarola f, taró m, caixa clara f, caixa chata f
• Spanish: caja (es)
• Swedish: virveltrumma (sv) c, militärtrumma c

Verb

snare (third-person singular simple present snares, present participle snaring, simple past and past participle snared)

1. (transitive) To catch or hold, especially with a loop.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Lest that too heavenly form […] snare them.

   • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     The mournful crocodile / With sorrow snares relenting passengers.

2. (transitive, figurative) To ensnare.

Translations

to catch or hold, especially with a loop

• Bulgarian: впримчвам (bg) (vprimčvam)
• Czech: chytit do oka pf, lapit (cs) pf
• Dutch: strikken (nl)
• Egyptian: (ꜥḥ)
• Hungarian: csapdába ejt, csapdával fog, tőrbe csal
• Italian: prendere al lazo
• Maori: rore, toromāhanga
• Portuguese: engodar (pt), enlaçar (pt)
• Swedish: snara (sv)

Related terms

• ensnare
• snare drum
• snare-picture
• snarl

Anagrams

• Naser, Nears, RNase, Saner, Serna, eRNAs, earns, ernas, nares, nears, reans, saner

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English sneare, snearu, from Proto-West Germanic *snarhā, from Proto-Germanic *snarhǭ.

Alternative forms

• snaare, snarr, snarre

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsnaːr(ə)/

Noun

snare (plural snares)

1. A trap for catching animals.
2. A noose or snare (rope loop)
3. (figurative) A temptation or peril.

Related terms

• snaren
• snarl

Descendants

• English: snare
• Scots: snare

References

• “snāre, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Verb

snare

1. Alternative form of snaren

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse snara.

Noun

snare f or m (definite singular snara or snaren, indefinite plural snarer, definite plural snarene)

1. a snare
2. a trap

   Synonym: felle

Verb

snare (present tense snarer, past tense snara or snaret, past participle snara or snaret)

1. (transitive) to catch in a snare

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

snare

1. inflection of snar:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

References

• “snare” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Arnes, Ernas, anser, ranes, rasen, rensa, saner

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse snara (“a snare”), from Proto-Germanic *snarhǭ. Cognate with English snare.

Alternative forms

• (noun): Snara, Snora, snara, snora, snoru (obsolete forms and spellings)
• (verb): snara (split and a-infinitives)

Noun

snare f (definite singular snara, indefinite plural snarer, definite plural snarene)

1. a snare
2. a trap

   Synonym: felle

Derived terms

• rennesnare

Verb

snare (present tense snarar, past tense snara, past participle snara, passive infinitive snarast, present participle snarande, imperative snare/snar)

1. (transitive) to catch in a snare
2. (transitive) to ensnare

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

snare

1. inflection of snar:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

References

• “snare” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Arnes, Ernas, ensar, naser, rasen, saner

Swedish

Adjective

snare

1. definite natural masculine singular of snar

Anagrams

• Arnes, Enars, Ernas, anser, arens, enars, erans, rasen, reans, renas, rensa, resan