snicker

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsnɪk.ə(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsnɪkɚ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪkə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

US variant of the British snigger, possibly of imitative origin, similar to Dutch snikken (“to gasp; sob”). The noun is first recorded 1836, from the verb. Compare also Scottish smicker (“to smile or laugh in a sniggering or leery way, smirk”). More at smicker.

Alternative forms

• snigger

Noun

snicker (plural snickers)

1. A stifled or broken laugh.

Derived terms

• snicker licker

 

Translations

stifled laugh

• Bulgarian: подсмиване (bg) n (podsmivane), хихикане (bg) n (hihikane)
• Czech: hihňání n, pochechtávání n
• Finnish: hihitys (fi)
• French: ricanement (fr) m
• German: Kichern (de) n, Gekicher (de) n
• Italian: risatina (it) f
• Polish: chichot (pl) m
• Spanish: risita f
• Swedish: fniss (sv)
• Tagalog: hagikgik
• Turkish: kişneme (tr)

Verb

snicker (third-person singular simple present snickers, present participle snickering, simple past and past participle snickered)

1. (intransitive) To emit a snicker, a stifled or broken laugh.
   • 1915 June, T[homas] S[tearns] Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, in Prufrock and Other Observations, London: The Egotist […], published 1917, →OCLC, page 13:

     I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, / And in short, I was afraid.

2. (transitive) To utter through a laugh of this kind.
3. (of a horse) To whinny.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:laugh

Translations

to emit a snicker

• Bulgarian: хихикам (bg) (hihikam), подсмивам се (podsmivam se)
• Czech: hihňat se impf, pochechtávat se impf
• Finnish: hihittää (fi)
• French: ricaner (fr)
• German: kichern (de)
• Polish: chichotać (pl)
• Portuguese: casquinar
• Romanian: chicoti (ro)
• Spanish: reír disimuladamente
• Swedish: fnissa (sv)
• Tagalog: hagikgik, humagikgik
• Turkish: kıs kıs gülmek, kişnemek (tr)

Etymology 2

snick +‎ -er

Noun

snicker (plural snickers)

1. (cricket, rare) A player who snicks the ball.

See also

• snicker-snack

Anagrams

• Kincers, Renicks, Resnick, nickers