Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Snipe
Snipe
,Noun.
1.
(Zool.)
Any one of numerous species of limicoline game birds of the family
Scolopacidae
, having a long, slender, nearly straight beak. ☞ The common, or whole, snipe (
Gallinago cœlestis
) and the great, or double, snipe (Gallinago major
), are the most important European species. The Wilson’s snipe (Gallinago delicata
) (sometimes erroneously called English snipe
) and the gray snipe, or dowitcher (Macrohamphus griseus
), are well-known American species. 2.
A fool; a blockhead.
[R.]
Shak.
Half snipe
, the dunlin; the jacksnipe.
– Jack snipe
. See
– Jacksnipe
. Quail snipe
. See under
– Quail
. Robin snipe
, the knot.
– Sea snipe
. See in the Vocabulary.
– Shore snipe
, any sandpiper.
– Snipe hawk
, the marsh harrier.
[Prov. Eng.]
– Stone snipe
, the tattler.
– Summer snipe
, the dunlin; the green and the common European sandpipers.
– Winter snipe
. See
– Rock snipe
, under Rock
. Woodcock snipe
, the great snipe.
Webster 1828 Edition
Snipe
SNIPE
, n.1.
A bird tha frequents the banks of rivers and the borders of fens, distinguished by the length of its bill; the scolopax gallinago.2.
A fool; a blockhead.