▪ I. ˈsnuggle, n. rare.
[f. next.]
An act of snuggling; also with down. Also, a group of persons or things which are snuggled together.
| 1901 ‘R. Connor’ Man from Glengarry xx. 328 ‘You are sure you are comfortable?’ ‘Quite,’ she replied, with a cosy little snuggle down among the cushions. a 1910 ‘Mark Twain’ Autobiogr. (1924) I. 103 In the early cold mornings a snuggle of children..occupying the hearthstone. 1935 E. Bowen House in Paris ii. i. 87 A snuggle of gothic villas. 1966 J. S. Cox Illustr. Dict. Hairdressing & Wigmaking p. ix, Words which, when used in conjunction with the word curls, are indicative of either the quantity,..or arrangement of a group of curls:..Ruffle, Snuggle, Soufflé. |
▪ II. snuggle, v.
(ˈsnʌg(ə)l)
[Cf. snug v. and -le.]
1. intr. Of persons, esp. children: To lie snug or close, esp. for warmth or comfort; to settle down cosily or comfortably; to get or press close to a person, esp. as a mark of affection; to nestle.
| 1687 Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii, To Snuggle, or to snuggle together, se serrer dans un lit. 1727 Bailey (vol. II), To Snuggle, to lie close together; to embrace one another in Bed. 1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words, Snuggle, to lie snug in bed—or to get close together in bad weather. 1850 Thackeray Pendennis lviii, She coaxed and snuggled and smiled. 1854 ― Newcomes i, We were friends in a minute—young Newcome snuggling by my side. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i. iii, I snuggled under a little shawl, and it was warm there. |
| fig. 1879 ‘E. Garrett’ Ho. by Works I. 25 It was a wealthy household,..where virtue..snuggled in broad cloth and satin. |
b. To nestle close or near to a person or thing.
| 1845 S. Judd Margaret i. xiv, Children snuggled to their parents. 1884 Ordnance Gaz. Scotl. II. 394 A collie snuggles to his foot. 1900 R. J. Muir Myst. Muncraig xxi. 260 ‘Don't say that,’ moaned the girl, snuggling close. |
c. With up or down. Also, to curl up snugly or comfortably.
| (a) 1840 Haliburton Letter Bag i. 11, [I] unbooted, unstayed, and snuggled up like a kitten, in bed. 1879 G. Meredith Egoist xlii, He..dashed downstairs into the drawing-room, where he snuggled up and dropped asleep. 1880 19th Cent. Sept. 451 That is the time to appreciate the comfort of a warm weather-proof house, to snuggle up in your blanket [etc.]. |
| (b) 1879 Stevenson Trav. Cevennes 61, [I] put my revolver ready to my hand, and snuggled well down among the sheepskins. 1886 Miss Mulock King Arthur viii. 311 When the old birds are flown we must snuggle down in the empty nest. |
2. transf. Of buildings, etc.: To lie in a sheltered or snug situation; to nestle.
| 1862 H. Marryat Year in Sweden II. 301 Under these bastions snuggle small wood tenements. 1892 Black & White 26 Nov. 614/1 The towns..snuggle among foliage. 1898 Baring-Gould Old Eng. Home i. 18 In a dip in the land,..snuggling into the folds of the down,..lies this lovely old house. |
3. trans. To clasp or draw (a person, etc.) to one closely or affectionately; to hug or cuddle.
| 1775 Ash, Snuggle, to receive into the bosom, to receive into a snug place. 1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words s.v., A nurse hugging a child warmly and kindly, would be said to snuggle it. 1874 C. Rossetti Poems, Speaking Likenesses 92 She snuggled it tenderly to her. |
b. To wrap in some warm garment, etc. Also with up.
| 1867 Alger Solitudes Nat. & Man iii. 169 To lie amid the clover..; or, snuggled in furs, to trudge [etc.]. 1893 Advance (Chicago) 30 Nov., Little boys whom doting mammas have snuggled up in leggings, mittens and mufflers. |
c. To push or press, to place or settle, (the head, etc.) in a snug or affectionate manner.
| 1883 Harper's Mag. Dec. 94/1 He..patted the little hand snuggled in upon his arm. 1899 Doyle Duet [xiv.] 185 She snuggled her head up against his knee. |
d. To fit or push closely into something.
| 1902 Temple Bar May 578 As he snuggled the weapon into the groove of the parapet. |
4. refl. To settle or nestle (oneself) in a place snugly or comfortably.
| 1876 W. White Holidays in Tyrol x. 82 Nests erected on poles in which the watchers snuggle themselves. |