snail

snail
—snaillike, adj.
/snayl/, n.
1. any mollusk of the class Gastropoda, having a spirally coiled shell and a ventral muscular foot on which it slowly glides about.
2. a slow or lazy person; sluggard.
3. a cam having the form of a spiral.
4. Midwestern and Western U.S. a sweet roll in spiral form, esp. a cinnamon roll or piece of Danish pastry.
[bef. 900; ME snail, snayl(e), OE snegel; c. LG snagel, G (dial.) Schnegel]

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Any species of gastropod that glides along on a broad tapered foot and has a high coiled shell into which it can withdraw.

Snails are found in the ocean, in fresh waters, and on land. Most marine snails have gills in the mantle cavity (see mollusk). Most land and freshwater snails have no gills; they use the mantle cavity itself as a lung. Snails may be either scavengers (of dead plant or animal matter) or predators. Some species are used as food, and the shells of some are used as ornaments. See also limpet, periwinkle, slug, whelk.

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      a gastropod (q.v.), especially one having an enclosing shell, into which it may retract completely for protection. A gastropod lacking a shell is commonly called a slug or sea slug.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Snail — (sn[=a]l), n. [OE. snaile, AS. sn[ae]gel, snegel, sn[ae]gl; akin to G. schnecke, OHG. snecko, Dan. snegl, Icel. snigill.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) (a) Any one of numerous species of terrestrial air breathing gastropods belonging to the genus Helix and many… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • snail — snail; snail·er; snail·ery; snail·ish; snail·ish·ly; …   English syllables

  • snail — [sneıl] n [: Old English; Origin: snAgl] 1.) a small soft creature that moves very slowly and has a hard shell on its back 2.) at a snail s pace extremely slowly ▪ Traffic was moving at a snail s pace …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • snail — (n.) O.E. snægl, from P.Gmc. *snagilas (Cf. O.S. snegil, O.N. snigill, M.H.G. snegel, dialectal Ger. Schnegel, O.H.G. snecko, Ger. Schnecke snail ), from root *snag , *sneg to crawl (see SNAKE (Cf. snake) (n.)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • snail — [ sneıl ] noun count a small animal that has a soft body, no legs, and a hard shell on its back. Snails move very slowly. at a snail s pace very slowly …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • snail — ► NOUN ▪ a slow moving mollusc with a spiral shell into which the whole body can be withdrawn. ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • snail — [snāl] n. [ME snaile < OE snægl, akin to Ger dial. schnägel, ON snigill < IE base * sneg , to creep > SNAKE, SNEAK] 1. any of a large number of slow moving gastropods living on land or in water and having a spiral protective shell: some… …   English World dictionary

  • Snail — For other uses, see Snail (disambiguation). For sea snails, see Sea snail. For slugs, see Slug. Helix pomatia, a species of land snail …   Wikipedia

  • snail — [[t]sne͟ɪl[/t]] snails 1) N COUNT A snail is a small animal with a long, soft body, no legs, and a spiral shaped shell. Snails move very slowly. 2) PHRASE: PHR after v (emphasis) If you say that someone does something at a snail s pace, you are… …   English dictionary

  • Snail —    1) Heb. homit, among the unclean creeping things (Lev. 11:30). This was probably the sand lizard, of which there are many species in the wilderness of Judea and the Sinai peninsula.    2) Heb. shablul (Ps. 58:8), the snail or slug proper.… …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • snail — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ edible ▪ aquatic, land, marine, pond, sea, water SNAIL + NOUN ▪ she …   Collocations dictionary

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