Where does “snell” come from?

snell (English) comes from Dutch snel, from Middle Dutch snel, from Old Dutch snel, from Proto-West Germanic *snell, from Proto-Germanic snellaz, from Proto-Indo-European snedʰlos.

snell (English): Quick, smart; sharp, active, brisk or nimble;...

Definitions

  1. Quick, smart; sharp, active, brisk or nimble;...

Ancestry of “snell”, step by step

snell traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Dutch snel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchsnelfast, quick, rapid
2Middle Dutchsnelfast, quick, rapid
3Old Dutchsnelquick, rapid
4Proto-West Germanic*snell—
5Proto-Germanicsnellazactive, bold, quick
6Proto-Indo-Europeansnedʰlos—

via German schnell

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanschnellquick, fast; quickly; again; quick
2Middle High Germansnel—
3Old High Germansnelnimble, brave, quick, lively; warlike, lively,...
4Proto-West Germanic*snël—

via Middle English snell

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishsnellquick, fast
2Old Englishsnelllively, quick

Words derived from “snell”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European snedʰlos →Every word from Proto-Germanic snellaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *snell →