▪ I. snivel, n.
(ˈsnɪv(ə)l)
Forms: α. 5 snevel, -yl, 6 -yll, 6–7 -il, 7 -ill; 6 sneuyll, -il, 6–7 -ill; 6 sneeuel, -ill, 9 Sc. sneevel, -il. β. 6 snyuell, sniuil, -yll, 6–7 -ell; 7 snivell, -ill, 7– snivel.
[f. snivel v.]
1. Mucus collected in, or issuing from, the nose.
| α 14.. Parts Body in Wr.-Wülcker 631 Pus nasi, snevel of þe nose. c 1440 Jacob's Well 247 Wype wyth þi tunge oute of my nase þe snevyl þat hangyth þer-inne. 1530 Palsgr. 272/1 Snevyll whan it hangeth at ones nose, rovpie, boe. 1540 ― Acolastus I j, He wolde throwe the sneuyll of his nose into it. 1626 Breton Pasquil's Madcappe xi, As sower, As beldam's milke that turned with her sneuill. 1671 W. Salmon Syn. Med. i. liv. 136 Without avoiding any thing, except bloody or filthy Matter, like Snevil. |
| β 1519 W. Horman Vulg. 28 b, Thy nose is full of snyuell. 1548 Elyot, Mucosus, snattye,..fulle of sniuyll. 1593 G. Harvey Pierce's Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 238, I will..squise thy braine to sniuell, whereof it was curdled. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. iii. ii. vi. iii. (1651) 562 Snot and snivell in her nostrils, spittle in her mouth. 1682 Eng. Elect. Sheriffs 46, I will sooner worship the Sun, than..the Snot and Snivel of Loyala's Nose. 1739 R. Bull tr. Dedekindus' Grobianus 11 If with your Elbow you wipe off the Snivel, No Man alive shall be esteem'd more civil. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus xxiii. 17 Thee sweat frets not,..Frets not snivel or oozy rheumy nostril. |
b. A condition of the nose marked by the accumulation of mucus. Also the snivels.
| 1600 Surflet Countrey Farme i. xxviii. 188 For the sniuell, take orpin and brimstone [etc.]. 1844 Lowson Mod. Farrier 209 This affection is termed the snores or snivels. 1877 Holderness Gloss. 132/1 Snivels, a cold, accompanied by a difficulty of breathing, and a running at the nose. |
† 2. Saliva. Obs.—1
| 1697 Phil. Trans. XX. 50 The Snivel or Drivel that comes from the Mouth of a Dog..when mad. |
† 3. (See quot.) Obs.
| 1693 Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. II. 195 Grounds..that being colder and stronger or heavier, easily infect them [lettuces] with slimy Snivel [= ‘a sort of rotting moisture, hanging about some plants’]. |
4. A slight sniff indicating, or intended to suggest, suppressed emotion.
| 1848 Dickens Dombey xxxix, Rob..took up the pieces one by one with a sob and a snivel for each. 1866 Gilpin Songs Cumbld. 280 Sae wi' snuffs an' sneevils [he] Rair't out. 1890 Daily News 18 Feb. 5/2 A carefully arranged and expressive ‘snivel’ is regarded as their most valuable acquirement. |
b. A show or pretence of emotion; hypocritical expression of feeling.
| 1878 E. Jenkins Haverholme 194 Lords and ladies..penned elegiacs to his praise in tears and snivel. 1886 St. James's Gaz. 9 Feb. (Cassell), The cant and snivel of which we have seen so much of late. |
5. attrib. and Comb., as snivel-bottle, snivel-guts, snivel-monger, snivel-nose.
| 1690 Dryden Amphitryon iii. i, A received opinion, snivel⁓guts. 1778 Exmoor Scolding Gloss., Snibble-nose, or rather Snivel-nose, one who snuffs up the Snot. 1792 Wolcot (P. Pindar) Ep. Sir W. Hamilton Wks. 1812 III. 185 More snivel-bottles, jordens, and old jugs. 1896 A. Morrison Child Jago 149 He preferred the frank rogue before the calculating snivel-monger. |
▪ II. snivel, v.
(ˈsnɪv(ə)l)
Forms: α. 4 snevele, 5–6 sneuel, 6 -il, snevel(l, -ill, -yll; 9 dial. sneavel, Sc. sneevil. β. 4 snyvele, 5 -elle, 6 snyuel, 7 sniuel, 7– snivel (9 dial. snivvel).
[OE. *snyflan (implied in snyflung snivelling vbl. n.), f. snofl mucus. Cf. Da. sn{obar}vle (older snevle) to snuffle.]
1. intr. To run at the nose; to emit mucus from the nose; also, to draw up mucus audibly.
| c 1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 173 Ely autre ne pout parler Une parole sanz nasyer, [glossed] snevelet, snyvele. a 1450 Langland's P. Pl. B. v. 135 (MS. Bodl. 814), Now awakiþ wratthe, wiþ two white eiȝen, And sneuelyng wiþ his nose. 1483 Cath. Angl. 347/1 To Snyvelle, naricare. 1508 Kennedie Flyting w. Dunbar 550 Out! out! I schout, apon that snowt that snevillis. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 1865 The snyte snyueled in the snowte and smyled at the game. 1614 B. Jonson Barth. Fair ii. v, Dos't so, snotty nose? Good Lord! are you sniueling? 1649 Quarles Virgin Widow ii, Must I be still yawling, and calling,..whilst y'are..potting, and piping, and driveling and sniveling! a 1722 Lisle Husb. (1757) 319 When they are sheared they catch cold, and will be glandered, and snivel very much. |
b. trans. (See quot.) rare.
| 1530 Palsgr. 723/2, I snevell, I beraye any thynge with snyvell, je amorue. Se howe this boye snyvelleth his cote. |
c. To clear (the nose) by snuffling.
| 1835 Politeness & Gd.-breeding 104 Never..snivel and snort a wet nose. |
2. intr. To make a sniffing or snuffling sound expressive of real or assumed emotion; to be in, or affect, a tearful state.
| 1690 Dryden Prol. to ‘Mistakes’, I left our young Poet sniveling and sobbing behind the Scenes, and cursing some⁓body that has deceiv'd him. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 364 ¶4 To take a Lad from Grammar and..send him crying and snivelling into foreign Countries. 1791 Cowper Iliad ii. 329 And whip thee hence Home to thy galley, sniveling like a boy. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xxiii, What signified his bringing a woman here to snotter and snivel, and bather their Lordships? 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lxii, Every woman in the house was snivelling at the time. 1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal III. i. 22 Why do you stand there snivelling about him? |
3. trans. a. To affect in some way by snivelling; to address in a snivelling manner. rare.
| 1668 R. L'Estrange Vis. Quev. (1702) 268 To snivel and sneeze himself into another World. 1700 Congreve Way of World i. ix, Let 'em snivel and cry their Hearts out. 1717 Entertainer No. 25. 168 Thus they Whine and Snivel the Multitude, to enrich themselves and help forward the Faction. |
b. To utter with a snivelling or sniffing sound; to shed (tears) snufflingly. Also with out.
| 1780 Cowper Progr. Error 310 Ye novelists, who mar what ye would mend, Sniv'ling and driv'ling folly without end. 1818 Scott Rob Roy xxx, I heard the former snivel out, in a very subdued tone, ‘And ye'll ask her’ [etc.]. 1851 Thackeray Eng. Hum. vi. (1876) 328 That fine flower of love..over which Sterne snivelled so many tears. 1865 Alex. Smith Summer in Skye I. 237 The doctor saluted Flora and snivelled his compliments. |