Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
SNAIK, v., n. Also snake, snaek, sne(c)k. [snek]
I. v. 1. Of animals: to prowl, snuff about looking for food.Sc. 1728 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) II. 3:
Behind a Ruck Met honest Toop and snaking Buck.Slk. 1818 Hogg B. of Bodsbeck vii.:
Some o' thae beasts that gang snaiken about i' the derk.
2. More gen., to sneak, to skulk about, to do anything in a mean, furtive, or underhand manner (Sc. 1880 Jam.; Ags. 1970). Also in Eng. dial. Adv. snekinly, furtively, by duplicity.m.Sc. 1715 W. Fraser Chiefs of Grant (1883) II. 286:
A strange snakeing spy.Sc. 1729 W. Fraser Red Bk. Grandtully (1868) II. 324:
You shoud mack him reteuren your mony hae so snekinly got from you.Kcd. 1890 Stonehaven Jnl. (22 May) 3:
Some rag-a-muffins gaun snaekin' aboot hooses, seein' fat they can pick up.Fif. 1894 J. Menzies Our Town xxiii.:
He snaiket long efter the women.Lnk. 1919 Border Mag. (Jan.) 7:
When I far yont the gates o' yon land am sneckin.
3. Also with at: to walk or work in a slow, indolent manner (Bnff. 1866 Grego D. Bnff. 172). Ppl.adj. snaikin, slow, indolent (Ib.). Derivs.: snaikach, creeping, crawling (Sc. 1911 S.D.D.); snaiker, an indolent person (Ib.).
4. Ppl.adj. snakin in Burns quot. below, is of uncertain meaning and was discarded by him after criticism by his Dumfrieshire friends who appear to have found difficulty in understanding it, the line being rewritten in a different sense (see Scot Douglas's edition I. pp. 99–101). Poss. Burns meant to construe it in a fig. sense of 1. above, = snuffling, sniffing contemptuously. See etym. note.Ayr. 1785 Burns Holy Willie's Prayer xv.:
While he, wi' hingin lip an' snakin, Held up his head.
II. n. 1. The act of walking or working in an indolent manner (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 172). Cf. I. 3.
2. An indolent person (Ib.).
[O.Sc. snake, = I. 2., 1681, O.N. snaka, to go snuffing or searching about, phs. later associated with the etymologically unconnected (and in some dialects homophonous) sneak, poss. also with snake.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Snaik v., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 7 May 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/snaik>
