Definitions for: Snail


[n] freshwater or marine or terrestrial gastropod mollusk usually having an external enclosing spiral shell
[n] edible terrestrial snail usually served in the shell with a sauce of melted butter and garlic
[v] gather snails; "We went snailing in the summer"



Webster (1913) Definition: Snail (sn[=a]l), n. [OE. snaile, AS. sn[ae]gel, snegel,
sn[ae]gl; akin to G. schnecke, OHG. snecko, Dan. snegl, Icel.
snigill.]
1. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) Any one of numerous species of terrestrial
air-breathing gastropods belonging to the genus Helix
and many allied genera of the family Helicid[ae].
They are abundant in nearly all parts of the world
except the arctic regions, and feed almost entirely on
vegetation; a land snail.
(b) Any gastropod having a general resemblance to the true
snails, including fresh-water and marine species. See
Pond snail, under Pond, and Sea snail.

2. Hence, a drone; a slow-moving person or thing.

3. (Mech.) A spiral cam, or a flat piece of metal of spirally
curved outline, used for giving motion to, or changing the
position of, another part, as the hammer tail of a
striking clock.

4. A tortoise; in ancient warfare, a movable roof or shed to
protect besiegers; a testudo. [Obs.]

They had also all manner of gynes [engines] . . .
that needful is [in] taking or sieging of castle or
of city, as snails, that was naught else but hollow
pavises and targets, under the which men, when they
fought, were heled [protected], . . . as the snail
is in his house; therefore they cleped them snails.
--Vegetius
(Trans.).

5. (Bot.) The pod of the sanil clover.

Ear snail, Edible snail, Pond snail, etc. See under
Ear, Edible, etc.

Snail borer (Zo["o]l.), a boring univalve mollusk; a drill.


Snail clover (Bot.), a cloverlike plant ({Medicago
scuttellata}, also, M. Helix); -- so named from its
pods, which resemble the shells of snails; -- called also
snail trefoil, snail medic, and beehive.

Snail flower (Bot.), a leguminous plant ({Phaseolus
Caracalla}) having the keel of the carolla spirally coiled
like a snail shell.

Snail shell (Zo["o]l.), the shell of snail.

Snail trefoil. (Bot.) See Snail clover, above.

Synonyms: escargot

See Also: collect, edible snail, edible snail, garden snail, garner, gastropod, gather, Helix pomatia, Helix pomatia, meat, pull together, scorpion shell, univalve, whelk

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