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Origin and history of snare

snare(n.1)

"noose for catching animals," late Old English snearu, and also from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse snara "noose, snare," related to soenri "twisted rope," from Proto-Germanic *snarkho (source also of Middle Dutch snare, Dutch snaar, Old High German snare, German Schnur "noose, cord," Old English snear "a string, cord"). Figuratively from c. 1300, "anything by which one is entangled or entrapped."

snare(n.2)

"string stretched across the lower head of a drum," so as to produce a rattling vibration, 1680s, probably [OED] from Dutch snaar "string," from same source as snare (n.1). From 1938 as a shortening of snare-drum (which is attested by 1873).

snare(v.)

late 14c., snaren, "ensnare, catch or take (small animals, birds, etc.)," also figurative, from snare (n.1). Related: Snared; snaring.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to snare

ensnare(v.)

formerly also insnare, 1570s, from en- (1) "make, put in" + snare (n.). Related: Ensnared; ensnaring.

narcotic(n.)

late 14c., narcotik, "substance which directly induces sleep or allays sensibility and blunts the senses," from Old French narcotique (early 14c.), noun use of adjective, and directly from Medieval Latin narcoticum, from Greek narkōtikon, neuter of narkōtikos "making stiff or numb," from narkōtos, verbal adjective of narkoun "to benumb, make unconscious," from narkē "numbness, deadness, stupor, cramp" (also "the electric ray").

This has been connected to a PIE root *(s)nerq- "to turn, twist," with cognates in Germanic (Old Norse snara "to turn, swing, wind;" see snare (n.1)), but Beekes finds this "semantically far from convincing," and writes, "The structure of this word looks non-IE. Therefore, we should rather assume a Pre-Greek word *nark-." Sense of "any illegal drug" first recorded 1926, American English. Related: Narcotics.

snarl(n.1)

late 14c., "a snare, noose, trap," perhaps a diminutive of snare (n.1) with -el (2). The meaning "a tangle, a knot" in hair, thread, etc. is attested from c. 1600. That of "traffic jam" is from 1933.

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    gin
    type of distilled drinking alcohol, 1714, shortening of geneva, altered (by influence of the name of the Swiss city, with which it has no connection) from Dutch genever "gin," literally "juniper" (because the alcohol was flavored with its berries), from Old French genevre "the pl
    hook
    "bent or angled piece of metal or other substance used to catch or hold something," Old English hoc "hook, angle," perhaps related to Old English haca "bolt," from Proto-Germanic *hokaz/*hakan (source also of Old Frisian hok, Middle Dutch hoek "a hook;" Dutch haak "a hook, angle,
    trap
    "contrivance for catching unawares," late Old English træppe, treppe "snare, trap," from Proto-Germanic *trep- (source also of Middle Dutch trappe "trap, snare"), related to Germanic words for "stair, step, tread" (Middle Dutch, Middle Low German trappe, treppe, German Treppe "st
    decoy
    1610s, "a swindler;" 1650s, "anything intended to lead (someone) into a snare;" 1660s, "a lure employed in enticing game...into a snare or within range of a weapon;" perhaps from Dutch kooi "cage," used of a pond surrounded by nets, into which...
    lace
    made of braided or interwoven strands of silk, etc.," from Old French laz "a net, noose, string, cord, tie, ribbon, or snare..." (Modern French lacs), from Vulgar Latin *lacium, from Latin laqueum (nominative laqueus) "a noose, a snare" (source also...Later also "net, noose, snare" (c. 1300); and "piece of cord used to draw together the edges of slits or openings in an article...
    lemma
    rabhate "seizes;" Old English læccan "to seize, grasp;" Greek lazomai "I take, grasp;" Old Church Slavonic leca "to catch, snare...
    insidious
    insidious" (15c.) or directly from Latin insidiosus "deceitful, cunning, artful, treacherous," from insidiae (plural) "plot, snare...
    plan
    1670s as a technical term in perspective drawing; more generally by 1706 as "the representation of anything drawn on a plane; a drawing, sketch, or diagram of any object," from French plan "ground plot of a building, map," literally "plane surface" (mid-16c.), from Latin planum "
    lure
    early 14c., "something which allures or entices, an attraction" (a figurative use), originally the name of a device for recalling a hawk, from Anglo-French lure, Old French loirre "device used to recall hawks, lure," from Frankish *lothr or some other Germanic source, from Proto-
    rule
    c. 1200, "principle or maxim governing conduct, formula to which conduct must be conformed" from Old French riule, Norman reule "rule, custom, (religious) order" (in Modern French partially re-Latinized as règle), from Vulgar Latin *regula, from Latin regula "straight stick, bar,

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