snail

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A small slow-moving animal with a soft body and a spiral shell on its back.

   A snail crawled slowly across the wet leaf.

2. 2
   verb

   To move or travel very slowly.

   The cars snailed along the motorway during rush hour.

3. 3
   noun

   An edible land snail, usually served cooked in its shell with garlic butter.

   At the French restaurant, she ordered snails for the first time.

From Middle English snayl, snail, from the Old English sneġel, from Proto-Germanic *snagilaz. Cognate with Low German Snagel, Snâel, Snâl (“snail”), German Schnegel (“slug”). Compare also Old Norse snigill, from Proto-Germanic *snigilaz.

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