snell – English adjective declension

English adjective forms of snell

Adjective: snell

Comparison Forms

Synthetic

Comparativesneller
Superlativesnellest

Perifrastic

Sample Sentences

  • That in ilk action, wise and snell / You may shaw Manly fire. [1720, Allan Ramsay, Edinburgh's Salutation to Lord Carnarvon:]
  • That horny-handed, snell, peremptory little man. [1852, John Brown, Rab and his Friends:]
  • Amos is a lithe, keen, snell man. [1889, James Robertson, The Early Religion of Israel:]
  • With all this heavy artillery, somewhat slow and cumbrous, on great questions, he had no want, when he was speaking off-hand, of quick, snell remark, often witty and full of spirit, and often too unexpected, like lightning—flashing, smiting, and gone. [1861, John Brown, Horæ Subsecivæ:]
  • Conscience is a rough lad, I grant you, and I am keen and snell also; but never mind, take his advice, and you’ll be some credit to your freens yet, ye scoonrel. [1833, Michael Scott, Tom Cringle's Log:]
  • Fortunately, we were well prepared for such an emergency, and being sheltered in a safe creek, we roofed the ship with canvas against the snow; and so, with land on every side of us, plenty of moss fuel ashore, a good stock of provisions, and firearms for hunting, we held our trouble, and passed the snell season without the loss of a single soul aboard. [1881, Robert Buchanan, God and the Man:]

Adjectives inflected like snell

sallow, smooth, slight, sleigh, sordid, somber, shweet, shrill, shrewd, yellow, yaller, hard knock, DRY, Greek, cut short, unquiet, unclean, indiscreet, chipper, straicht, etc. (List truncated at 20 adjectives)

Etymology

1. Inherited from Middle English snell (“quick, fast”) from Old English snell, snel (“lively, quick”) from Proto-West Germanic *snell, from Proto-Germanic *snellaz (“active, swift, brisk”).
2. Akin to Dutch snel (“fast, quick”), German Low German snell (“quick”), German schnell (“quick, swift”), Yiddish שנעל (shnel, “quick, swift”), Italian snello (“quick, nimble”), Old French esnel, isnel (“snell”), and Occitan isnel, irnel (“snell”)), Old Norse snjallr (“skilful, excellent”) (whence Danish snild (“clever”)). See: Dutch Adjectives 'snel', German Adjectives 'schnell', Italian Adjectives 'snello'.

Verbs referencing "snell"

German Adjectives schnell.