snob

See also: Snob and snöb

English

Etymology

Origin is debated, but "snob" became widely used in the 19th century to connote social climbers that copied the manners of the upper classes, which makes a fair case for the suggested theory of "s.nob.", abbreviation of the latin phrase "sine nobilitate", meaning "without nobility", regardless of, and perhaps parallell and unrelated to, the first recorded use mid 18th century, meaning "cobbler".

Pronunciation

• enPR: snŏb, IPA^(key): /snɒb/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒb

Noun

snob (plural snobs)

1. (informal) 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.]
   • 1958, Arnold Wesker, Roots:

     If wanting the best things in life means being a snob then glory hallelujah I'm a snob.

2. (colloquial) A cobbler or shoemaker. [from 18th c.]
   • 1929, Frederic Manning, The Middle Parts of Fortune, Vintage 2014, p. 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 […]

3. (dated) A member of the lower classes; a commoner. [from 19th c.]
   • 1844, Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit:

     '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 men of taste: not snobs.'

   • 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Poison Belt:

     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.

4. (archaic) A workman who works for lower wages than his fellows, or who will not join a strike.
5. (Cambridge University) A townsman, as opposed to a gownsman.

Coordinate terms

• posh
• social climber

Derived terms

• snobbery, snobbism
• snobbish
• snobby
• snobbiness
• snobbishness
• snobbishly

Translations

person who seeks to be a member of the upper classes

• Arabic: (indefinite) مُتَعَالٍ‎ m (mutaʿālin), (definite) المُتَعَالِي‎ m (al-mutaʿālī)

  Egyptian Arabic: متعالي‎ (muta3alii)

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 勢利的人, 势利的人 (shìlì de rén)

• Czech: snob (cs) m
• Danish: snob c
• Dutch: snob (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: snobo
• Finnish: snobi (fi)
• French: snob (fr) m or f
• German: Snob (de) m, Wichtigtuer (de) m, Schnösel (de) m, Schickimicki m
• Greek: σνομπ (el) m or f (snomp), ψηλομύτης (el) m (psilomýtis), ακατάδεκτος (el) m (akatádektos)
• Hebrew: סנוב‎ m (snob)
• Hungarian: sznob (hu)
• Icelandic: snobb n

• Italian: snob (it) m or f
• Japanese: スノッブ (sunobbu)
• Maltese: pepè, mnieħru mxammar m, mnieħirha mxammar f
• Maori: ihu tū, whakaparanga
• Persian: فخرفروشی‎
• Portuguese: esnobe (pt) m or f
• Romanian: snob (ro) m
• Russian: сноб (ru) m (snob), зазна́йка (ru) m (zaznájka)
• Scottish Gaelic: sodalan m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сно̏б m

  Roman: snȍb (sh) m

• Slovak: snob m
• Spanish: esnob (es) m or f, fresa f (Mexico), pijo (es) m, pituco (es) m, siútico (es)
• Swedish: snobb (sv) c

Anagrams

• BSON, bo's'n, nobs

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English snob.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔp

Noun

snob m (plural snobs, diminutive snobje n)

1. snob

Anagrams

• bons

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from English snob.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /snɔb/

Adjective

snob (plural snobs)

1. 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.

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

Noun

snob m or f (plural snobs)

1. snob

   C’est un snob.

   He's a snob.

Derived terms

• snober
• snobinard
• snobisme
• snobissime

Further reading

• “snob” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• bons

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Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English snob.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈznɔb/

Noun

snob m (invariable)

1. snob

Adjective

snob (invariable)

1. snobbish

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Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from English snob.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /snôb/

Noun

snȍb m (Cyrillic spelling сно̏б)

1. snob

Declension

Declension of snob

	singular	plural
nominative	snȍb	snòbovi
genitive	snoba	snobova
dative	snobu	snobovima
accusative	snoba	snobove
vocative	snobe	snobovi
locative	snobu	snobovima
instrumental	snobom	snobovima

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Slovak

Etymology

Borrowed from English snob.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsnɔp/

Noun

snob m (genitive singular snoba, nominative plural snobi, genitive plural snobov, declension pattern of chlap)

1. snob

Declension

Declension of snob

	singular	plural
nominative	snob	snobi
genitive	snoba	snobov
dative	snobovi	snobom
accusative	snoba	snobov
locative	snobovi	snoboch
instrumental	snobom	snobmi

Derived terms

• snobka
• snobský
• snobsky
• snobstvo

Further reading

• snob in Slovak dictionaries at korpus.sk