Of obscure origin. Likely from late Middle English sniȝen, snyȝen (“to creep”), from Old Danish *snigæ (whence modern Danish snige), from Old Norse sníkja (“to crawl, creep”). If so, doublet of sneak.
(dialectal, intransitive) Abound, swarm, teem, be infested, with something
“And did you kill it?”
“I did, for they’re a nuisance. The place is fair snied wi’ ‛em.” 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 4”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
Forms
Spelling
Features
Labels
Source
snies
Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres
lexicographic
snithe
alternative
lexicographic
snye
alternative
lexicographic
snee
alternative
lexicographic
snying
Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part
lexicographic
snie
alternative
lexicographic
snied
Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part
lexicographic
snied
Tense=Past
lexicographic
snive
alternative
lexicographic
Translations (6)
pl obfitować (to swarm, teem, be infested with something) · pl roić się (to swarm, teem, be infested with something) · ru кише́ть (to swarm, teem, be infested with something) · pl obrodzić (to swarm, teem, be infested with something) · pl mrowić się (to swarm, teem, be infested with something) · pl obradzać (to swarm, teem, be infested with something)
First attested in 1711; its etymology is unknown; perhaps from Proto-Germanic *snōwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sneh₁- (“to wind; twist; braid; plait”). Compare snying and the Danish sno (“to twine”, “to twist”).
Meanings
Upward curving observed in the planks of a wooden ship or boat. ▸ An upward curve at the edge of a plank.
Upward curving observed in the planks of a wooden ship or boat. ▸ An upward curve in the lines of a wooden watercraft from amidships toward its bow and its stern.
First attested with this spelling in 1893; see snye.
Meanings
(archaic) A small channel of water.
1893, Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer Abroad, Tom Sawyer, Detective and Other Stories (1896), page unknown
“Well, Mars Tom, my idea is like dis. It ain’t no use, we can’t kill dem po’ strangers dat ain’t doin’ us no harm, till we’ve had practice — I knows it perfectly well, Mars Tom — ‛deed I knows it perfectly well. But ef we takes a’ ax or two, jist you en me en Huck, en slips acrost de river to-night arter de moon’s gone down, en kills dat sick fam’ly dat’s over on the Sny, en burns dey house down, en —”
The word snye, sny or snie has been used for many years to describe a channel behind an island, with slack current or partly dried, or some such similar feature. 1948, Lawrence Johnstone Burpee, editor, Canadian Geographical Journal, volume 36, Royal Canadian Geographical Society, page 151: