▪ I. snare, n.
(snɛə(r))
Forms: 2 sneare, 4– snare, 5 snayr, 6 snayre, 6–7 Sc. snair, 4 snarr, 5–6 snar.
[In sense 1 a. ON. snara (Icel. snara, Norw. snara, snora, snuru; MSw. and Sw. snara, Da. snare) noose, snare, = OHG. snarahha snare, and related to OHG. and MHG. snar (obs. or dial. G. schnarre), OS. snari (MLG. and LG. snare, snar), MDu. snare, snaer (Du. snaar), string. Sense 2 is probably from the Du. or LG. forms.]
1. a. A device for capturing small wild animals or birds, usually consisting of a string with a running noose in which a foot or the head may be caught. Also in fig. context.
| a 1100 in Napier O.E. Glosses (1900) 26/2, Tenticulam, .i. decipulam, þelman, snearan, wocie. a 1300 E.E. Psalter ix. 16 In þis snare whilk þai hid swa Gripen es þe fote of þa. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 70 Lorde, what thyng sall passe qwyte, And be noght in this snarres tane. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxiii. (Bodl. MS.), Ofte by swete soune þe fouler bringeþ hem to grenes and snares swetlich. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 461/2 Snare, laqueus, pedica. 1483 Cath. Angl. 346/2 A Snare.., vbi A gylder. 1535 Coverdale Amos iii. 5 Taketh a man his snare vp from the grounde, afore he catche somwhat? 1570 Levins Manip. 202/40 A Snayre, laqueus, pedica. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 413 The proper time..For stalking Cranes to set the guileful Snare. 1731 Medley tr. Kolben's Cape G. Hope II. 149 Several Snares, made of Horse-Hairs, twisted together, are hung between the Branches. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) IV. 167 They either catch them in snares, or take them by surprize. 1847 Tennyson Princ. i. 218 The nightingale, Rapt in her song, and careless of the snare. 1885 W. T. Hornaday 2 Years Jungle ix. 99 They..set no snares, dig no pitfalls, nor capture game in any way whatever. |
b. In fig. and allusive uses.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 29532 Þat þou mai lightloker þam here, Ar þou be laght in findes snarr. a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxxiii. 6 Þe swetnes of þis life is snare þat þe deuyl gildirs men with. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. 3648 Blendid with lust,..Til in þe snare þei ben englued faste. 1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. 12 Faustus, a grete snare of þe deuele, for þis man was þe moost famous heretik of all þe Manicheis. 1538 Starkey England ii. i. 156 The daungerys and snarys of the world. 1576 Gascoigne Philomene Wks. 1910 II. 182 Bewtie was the guileful bayte, which caught their lives in Snare. 1641 Milton Reform. i. Wks. 1851 III. 30 Such commands were no commands, but snares. 1710 Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. lxvii. 112 Ignorance..exposes them to the snares of any..extreme. 1779 J. Moore View Soc. France (1789) I. i. 5 He who has the vigour to disentangle himself from the snares of deep play. 1825 Scott Betrothed xxvii, Their very virtues become snares to them. 1844 Ld. Denman Judgment O'Connell 1 Trial by jury itself, instead of being a security to persons who are accused, will be a delusion, a mockery, and a snare. 1866 Martineau Ess. I. 235 Dr. Mansel falls, we think, into the same snare. |
† c. A noose, a halter. Obs.—1
| 1388 Wyclif Matt. xxvii. 5 He passide forth, and ȝede, and hongide hym silf with a snare [L. laqueo]. |
d. Surg. A device, on the principle of a snare, for removing morbid growths.
| 1884 M. Mackenzie Dis. Throat & Nose II. 269 Snares have been used for many years for the removal of polypi. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 690 The larger growths..are best removed by the cold snare. Many advocate the use of the incandescent snare. |
2. a. One of the strings of gut, rawhide, or (more recently) wire, which are stretched across the lower head of a side-drum.
| 1688 Holme Armoury iii. xvi. (Roxb.) 61/1 The seuerall parts of a drumme... The Snares, which is made of Bowell strings. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Snares, the cords which pass across the diameter of one hoop at the end of a drum. 1875 Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms s.v. Side-drum, The lower [surface] having catgut strings called snares, stretched across to check the reverberation. |
b. ellipt. for snare-drum, sense 3 b.
| 1938 D. Baker Young Man with Horn i. iv. 28 He could, of course, play his snare and..sooner or later he'd have money enough to buy a piano. 1950 A. Lomax Mister Jelly Roll 64, I had a drummer that hit his snares so loud that one night I gave him a couple of fly swatters for a gag. 1960 ‘E. McBain’ Give Boys Great Big Hand xii. 137 The big one is the bass drum, and that round black case is what they call the snare. 1973 J. Wainwright Pride of Pigs 31 The drummer giving his snare a series of flicks with the wire brushes. |
3. attrib. and Comb. a. In sense 1, as snare-cord, snare-trap, snare wire; snare-wise adv.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xii. (Matthias) 288 Resone wald þat his throt ware vith a snar cord hangyt ful sare. 1611 Cotgr., Anses.., th' ends of ropes tyed snare-wise, or made into nooses. 1804 Lewis & Clark Orig. Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1905) VI. 274 Baling Invoice of Sundries for Indian Presents..3 Rolls Ear Wire, 3 do Snare Wire. 1889 Pall Mall G. 30 Sept. 6/3 They manufacture a clever snare-trap for the wild geese. 1953 P. Provencher I live in Woods iv. 36, I am in no danger because I have my axe, matches, fishing lines and snare⁓wire. 1964 C. Willock Enormous Zoo iv. 56 Snare wire began to make its appearance most frequently... Catching animals with wire snares attached to large logs is understandably popular. |
b. In sense 2, as snare-drum, snare-head, snare pin, etc.
| 1688 Holme Armoury iii. xvi. (Roxb.) 61/1 The seuerall parts of a drumme... The Snare head. Ibid., The Snare pin, or Screw. 1704 [E. Smith] Athenian Oracle III. 423 Their drums..received several small shot in the batter heads, which they went through, but immediately struck out again by the Rims, and touch'd not the snare heads. 1873 T. B. Aldrich Marjorie Daw 130 Morning and evening we heard the spiteful roll of their snare-drums. 1875 Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms s.v. Drum, The lower head has occasionally strings of catgut stretched over its surface, and then it is called a snare drum. 1884 Harper's Mag. Sept. 513/2 The little snare-drum trotted bravely along. 1926 E. Ferber Show Boat v. 96 A snare drummer who was always called a ‘sticks’, and the bass drum, known as the bull. 1941 W. C. Handy Father of Blues (1957) i. 5 The youngster would..beat on the strings in the manner of a snare drummer. 1961 A. C. Baines Mus. Instruments xiv. 335 ‘Snares’..consist of a number of gut or wire strings stretched across the lower skin or ‘snare head’. 1966 Crescendo Apr. 30/3 Complete with snare drumming that would make the Dagenham Girl Pipers turn green with envy. 1976 New Yorker 8 Mar. 108/3 He would hit the snare directly, or hit the snarehead and the rim. |
▪ II. snare, v.
(snɛə(r))
Also 5 snarre, 6–7 Sc. snair, 6 snayre.
[f. snare n. Cf. Norw. snara; MSw. snäria (Sw. snärja), MDa. snerie, snerge (Da. snære), in similar senses.]
1. a. trans. To capture (small wild animals, birds, etc.) in a snare; to catch by entangling.
| 1388 Wyclif Isaiah xxviii. 13 That thei..falle backward, and be al to-brokun, and be snarid, and be takun. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 461/2 Snaryn, or snarlyn, illaqueo. 1530 Palsgr. 723/2, I snare, I catche in a snare, je prens au las. 1548 Elyot, Laqueus, an halter, any thynge that one is snared or intangled in. 1570 Levins Manip. 202/44 To Snayre, illaqueare. 1610 Shakes. Temp. ii. ii. 174, I..will..show thee a Iayes nest, and instruct thee how to snare the nimble Marmazet. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 365 To fire the Brambles, snare the Birds. 1781 Cowper Retirement 401 To carve his rustic name upon a tree, To snare the mole. 1832 Lytton Eugene A. iii. iii, I should not be surprised if you snared one of Squire Nixon's hares by the way. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 422 The cultivated portions..swarm with quails, vast numbers of which are snared in nets by the natives. |
| absol. 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 813 He poach'd the wood, and on the warren snared. 1863 [H. W. Wheelwright] Spring & Summer in Lapland 144 Where every one shoots and snares just as he pleases. |
b. fig. To entangle, entrap.
| 1401 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 55 Cauteles and sleiȝtes, ech intrikid in other, to snarre symple soules. c 1430 Life St. Katherine (Roxb.) 31, I se wel þat þou woldest wyth þy venoms sotyltees snare vs. 1535 Coverdale Exod. x. 7 How longe shall we be snared after this maner? 1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 216 Be thow not snairde in Venus snair. 1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) 38 Cast downe thy looke, Least prides bait snare thee on the devils hooke. 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 16 Those ten tribes were justly snared by Jeroboams calves. 1810 Scott Lady of L. ii. xxviii. Themselves in bloody toils were snared. 1864 Tennyson Aylmer's F. 780 Who wove coarse webs to snare her purity. |
| refl. c 1550 Coverdale Fruitful Lessons (1593) O iij, Who so goeth about to bind the truth, dooth knitte and snare himselfe with vnlowsable bands. 16.. Sir W. Mure Sonn. to Margareit iv, Alace!.. To snair myselfe in hope to be reliued. 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 26 Adore it, but snare not thyselfe with it. |
c. U.S. To catch, to win by a small margin.
| 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §650/6 Win{ddd}snare a win. Ibid. §679/5 Field a ball; catch{ddd}snare a hit. 1948 Sun (Baltimore) 26 Nov. 17/1 Double Brandy..came from next to last to snare the second money about a half length in front of Brookmeade Stable's Gnu. |
2. Surg. and Path. To catch in a loop, esp. in order to remove; to cut off with a snare.
| 1884 M. Mackenzie Dis. Throat & Nose II. 355 An instrument for snaring nasal polypi. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 794 A peritoneal adhesion by which a loop of bowel is snared and acutely strangulated. |
Hence snared (snɛəd), ppl. a.; ˈsnaring vbl. n. (also attrib.) and ppl. a.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 461/2 Snarynge, or snarlynge, illaqueacio. a 1586 Sidney Ps. xviii. ii, To my snaring grave to goe. 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Enlazamiento, intangling, snaring. 1605 Earl Stirling Alexandr. Trag. ii. Chor., Then snaring laws did not extend The bounds of Reason. 1640 T. Carew Willing Prisoner ii, Her murdring glances, snaring haires,..so please me. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. iii. v, Driven mad like the snared lion. 1845 Disraeli Sybil (1863) 160 Meditating the snaring of a hare. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 899 The artificial snaring of tumours. 1923 Beaver Mar. 236/1 Having some snaring twine she killed sufficient rabbits to keep herself and child alive. 1971 A. Fry Long Journey iv. 18 The snaring wing, a long brush fence with a few ‘escapes’.., each set with a snare. Ibid. ix. 52 Three or four men could work together, driving animals..toward a snaring fence. |
▪ III. snare
variant of snathe v. dial.