Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “snag” come from?

Snag comes from Old Norse snagi, from Proto-Germanic snakk-, from Proto-Germanic snakaną, from Proto-Indo-European sneg-.

snag (English): A stump or base of a branch that has been lopped...

Definitions

  1. A stump or base of a branch that has been lopped...

Ancestry of “snag”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norsesnagiclothes peg
2Proto-Germanicsnakk-—
3Proto-Germanicsnakanąto crawl
4Proto-Indo-Europeansneg-to crawl, creeping thing

Words derived from “snag”

  • snagging
  • snaggle
  • snaggy
  • snaggletoothed
  • snaggletooth
  • snaggly
  • unsnag
  • snagger
  • antisnag
  • snaglike
  • snagging list
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sneg- →