| 释义 |
snail
I. \ˈsnāl, esp before pause or consonant -āəl\ noun
(-s)
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English snægl, snægel; akin to Old Saxon snegil snail, Middle High German snegel, Old High German snecko snail, snahhan to creep, Old Norse snigill snail, Old Irish snaighim I creep, Lithuanian snãke snail; basic meaning: to creep
1. : a freshwater or marine or terrestrial gastropod mollusk especially when having an external enclosing spiral shell — see brown snail, edible snail, garden snail, land snail, violet snail; compare limpet, pteropod, slug
2. : a slow-moving or sluggish person or thing : one lacking in energy or activity
3. : something suggesting a snail shell: as
a. : a snail clover or its pod — often used in plural
b. or snail wheel : a spiral or volute-shaped cam (as in a watch)
II. verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
intransitive verb
: to move, act, or go slowly or lazily
< the train snailed up the steep grade >
transitive verb
1. : to form in or mark with a spiral — used chiefly in horology
2. : to spend (time) like a snail or drone
III. noun
Etymology: probably by folk etymology
obsolete : chenille 1 |